1 PHRASAL VERB If you hold up your hand or something you have in your hand, you move it upwards into a particular position and keep it there. □ [V P n] She held up her hand stiffly. □ [V n P ] Hold it up so that we can see it.
2 PHRASAL VERB If one thing holds up another, it is placed under the other thing in order to support it and prevent it from falling. □ [V P n] Mills have iron pillars all over the place holding up the roof. □ [V n P ] Her legs wouldn't hold her up.
3 PHRASAL VERB To hold up a person or process means to make them late or delay them. □ [V n P ] Why were you holding everyone up? □ [V P n] Continuing violence could hold up progress towards reform.
4 PHRASAL VERB If someone holds up a place such as a bank or a shop, they point a weapon at someone there to make them give them money or valuable goods. □ [V P n] A thief ran off with hundreds of pounds yesterday after holding up a petrol station. [Also V n P ]
5 PHRASAL VERB If you hold up something such as someone's behaviour, you make it known to other people, so that they can criticize or praise it. □ [be V -ed P + as ] He had always been held up as an example to the younger ones. [Also V n P + as ]
6 PHRASAL VERB If something such as a type of business holds up in difficult conditions, it stays in a reasonably good state. □ [V P ] Children's wear is one area that is holding up well in the recession.
7 PHRASAL VERB If an argument or theory holds up , it is true or valid, even after close examination. □ [V P ] I'm not sure if the argument holds up, but it's stimulating.
8 → see also hold-up
▸ hold with PHRASAL VERB If you do not hold with an activity or action, you do not approve of it. □ [V P n] I don't hold with the way they do things nowadays. SYNONYMS hold VERB ➊1
carry: He was carrying a briefcase.
grip: She gripped the rope.
grasp: He grasped both my hands.
clutch: She was clutching a photograph.
clasp: She clasped the children to her.
hold|all /hoʊ ldɔːl/ (holdalls ) also hold-all N‑COUNT A holdall is a strong bag which you use to carry your clothes and other things, for example when you are travelling. [mainly BRIT ] in AM, usually use carryall
hold|er ◆◇◇ /hoʊ ldə r / (holders )
1 N‑COUNT [n N ] A holder is someone who owns or has something. □ This season the club has had 73,500 season-ticket holders. [Also + of ]
2 N‑COUNT [usu n N ] A holder is a container in which you put an object, usually in order to protect it or to keep it in place. □ …a toothbrush holder.
hold|ing /hoʊ ld I ŋ/ (holdings )
1 N‑COUNT If you have a holding in a company, you own shares in it. [BUSINESS ] □ That would increase Olympia & York's holding to 35%.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] A holding operation or action is a temporary one that is intended to keep a situation under control and to prevent it from becoming worse. □ A garden is, at best, a holding operation against nature.
ho ld|ing com|pa|ny (holding companies ) N‑COUNT A holding company is a company that has enough shares in one or more other companies to be able to control the other companies. [BUSINESS ]
hold|out /hoʊ ldaʊt/ (holdouts ) N‑COUNT A holdout is someone who refuses to agree or act with other people in a particular situation and by doing so stops the situation from progressing or being resolved. [AM ] □ France has been the holdout in trying to negotiate an end to the dispute.
ho ld-up (hold-ups )
1 N‑COUNT A hold-up is a situation in which someone is threatened with a weapon in order to make them hand over money or valuables.
2 N‑COUNT A hold-up is something which causes a delay.
3 N‑COUNT A hold-up is the stopping or very slow movement of traffic, sometimes caused by an accident which happened earlier. □ They arrived late due to a motorway hold-up.
hole ◆◆◇ /hoʊ l/ (holes , holing , holed )
1 N‑COUNT A hole is a hollow space in something solid, with an opening on one side. □ He took a shovel, dug a hole, and buried his once-prized possessions. □ …a 60ft hole.
2 N‑COUNT A hole is an opening in something that goes right through it. □ [+ in ] These tiresome creatures eat holes in the leaves. □ [+ in ] …kids with holes in the knees of their jeans.
3 N‑COUNT A hole is the home or hiding place of a mouse, rabbit, or other small animal. □ …a rabbit hole.
4 N‑COUNT A hole in a law, theory, or argument is a fault or weakness that it has. □ [+ in ] There were some holes in that theory, some unanswered questions.
5 N‑COUNT A hole is also one of the nine or eighteen sections of a golf course. □ I played nine holes with Gary today.
6 N‑COUNT A hole is one of the places on a golf course that the ball must drop into, usually marked by a flag.
7 PHRASE If you say that you need something or someone like a hole in the head , you are emphasizing that you do not want them and that they would only add to the problems that you already have. [INFORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □ We need more folk heroes like we need a hole in the head.
8 PHRASE If you say that you are in a hole , you mean that you are in a difficult or embarrassing situation. [INFORMAL ] □ He admitted that the government was in 'a dreadful hole'.