Definition: hold
Source: WordNet (r) 1.7
hold
n 1: the act of grasping; "he released his clasp on my arm"; "he
has a strong grip for an old man"; "she kept a firm hold
on the railing" [syn: clasp, clench, clutch, clutches,
grasp, grip]
2: understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or
magnitude of something; "he has a good grasp of accounting
practices" [syn: appreciation, grasp]
3: power by which something or someone is affected or
dominated: "he has a hold over them"
4: time during which some action is awaited; "instant replay
caused too long a delay"; "he ordered a hold in the
action" [syn: delay, time lag, postponement, wait]
5: a state of being confined (usually for a short time); "his
detention was politically motivated"; "the prisoner is on
hold"; "he is in the custody of police" [syn: detention,
custody]
6: (archaic) a stronghold
7: a cell in a jail or prison [syn: keep]
8: the appendage to an object that is designed to be held in
order to use or move it [syn: handle, grip, handgrip]
9: the space in a ship or aircraft for storing cargo [syn: cargo
area, cargo deck, cargo hold, storage area]
v 1: organize or be responsible for; "hold a reception," "have,
throw, or make a party", "give a course", etc. [syn: throw,
have, make, give]
2: keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep
clean"; "hold in place"; "She always held herself as a
lady"; "The students keep me on my toes" [syn: keep, maintain]
3: have or hold in one's hands; "Hold this bowl for a moment,
please"; also metaphorically: "A crazy idea took hold of
him" [syn: take hold] [ant: let go of]
4: to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement;
"This holds the local until the express passengers change
trains"; "About a dozen animals were held inside the
stockade"; "The illegal immigrants were held at a
detention center"; "The terrorists held the journalists
for ransom" [syn: restrain, confine]
5: have rightfully; of rights, titles, and offices; "She bears
the title of Duchess"; "He held the governorship for
almost a decade" [syn: bear]
6: have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense:
"She has $1,000 in the bank"; "He has got two beautiful
daughters"; "She holds a Master's degree from Harvard"
[syn: have, have got]
7: keep in mind or convey as a conviction or view; "take for
granted"; "view as important"; "hold these truths to be
self-evident"; "I hold him personally responsible" [syn: deem,
view as, take for]
8: contain or hold; have within: "The jar carries wine"; "The
canteen holds fresh water"; "This can contains water"
[syn: bear, carry, contain]
9: lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or
keep within limits; "moderate your alcohol intake" "hold
your tongue"; "hold your temper"; "control your anger"
[syn: control, hold in, contain, check, curb, moderate]
10: remain in a certain state, position, or condition; "The
weather held"; "They held on the road and kept marching"
11: maintain; as of a theory, thoughts, or feelings; "bear a
grudge"; "hold a grudge" [syn: harbor, harbour, entertain,
nurse]
12: hold on to [syn: reserve, retain]
13: assert or affirm; "Rousseau's philosophy holds that people
are inherently good"
14: remain committed to; "I hold to these ideas"
15: keep in one's possession [syn: retain, keep back, hold
back]
16: be the physical support of; carry the weight of; "The beam
holds up the roof"; "He supported me with one hand while
I balanced on the beam"; "What's holding that mirror?"
[syn: support, sustain, hold up]
17: hold the attention of; "The soprano held the audience";
"This story held our interest"; "She can hold an audience
spellbound"
18: keep from exhaling or expelling; "hold your breath"
19: support or hold in a certain manner; "She holds her head
high"; "He carried himself upright" [syn: carry, bear]
20: have room for; hold without crowding; "This hotel can
accommodate 250 guests"; "The theater admits 300 people";
"The auditorium can't hold more than 500 people" [syn: accommodate,
admit]
21: be capable of holding or containing; "This box won't take
all the items"; "The flask holds one gallon" [syn: contain,
take]
22: be valid, applicable, or true; "This theory still holds"
[syn: prevail, obtain]
23: take and maintain control over, often by violent means; "The
dissatisfied students held the President's office for
almost a week"
24: protect against a challenge or attack: "Hold that position
behind the trees!" "Hold the bridge against the enemy's
attacks" [syn: defend, guard]
25: declare to be; "She was declared incompetent"; " judge held
that the defendant was innocent" [syn: declare, adjudge]
26: have as a major characteristic; "The novel holds many
surprises"; "The book holds in store much valuable
advise"
27: cause to stop; "Halt the engines"; "Arrest the progress";
"halt the presses" [syn: halt, arrest]
28: bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted; "He's held by a
contract' "I'll hold you by your promise" [syn: oblige,
bind]
29: cover as for protection against noise or smell; "She held
her ears when the jackhammer started to operate"; "hold
one's nose"
30: drink alcohol without showing ill effects; "He can hold his
liquor"; "he had drunk more than he could carry" [syn: carry]
31: be pertinent or relevant or applicable; "The same laws apply
to you!" "This theory holds for all irrational numbers";
"The same rules go for everyone" [syn: apply, go for]
32: arrange for and reserve in advance; "reserve a seat on a
flight"; "We booked tickets to the show"; "please hold a
table at Maxim's" [syn: reserve, book]
33: resist or confront with resistance; "The politician defied
public opinion"; "The new material withstands even the
greatest wear and tear"; "The bridge held" [syn: defy,
withstand, hold up]
34: keep from departing; "Hold the taxi"; "Hold the horse"
35: stop dealing with; "hold all calls to the President's office
while he is in a meeting"
36: aim, point, or direct: "Hold the fire extinguisher directly
on the flames"
37: be in accord; be in agreement; "We agreed on the terms of
the settlement"; "I can't agree with you!"; "I hold with
those you say life is sacred"; "Both philosophers concord
on this point" [syn: agree, concur, concord] [ant:
disagree]
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Hold \Hold\, v. t. To hold up. To stop in order to rob, often with the demand to hold up the hands. [Colloq.] Hole \Hole\, n. (Games) (a) A small cavity used in some games, usually one into which a marble or ball is to be played or driven; hence, a score made by playing a marble or ball into such a hole, as in golf. (b) (Fives) At Eton College, England, that part of the floor of the court between the step and the pepperbox.
Hold \Hold\, n. [D. hol hole, hollow. See Hole.] (Naut.) The whole interior portion of a vessel below the lower deck, in which the cargo is stowed.
Hold \Hold\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Held; p. pr. & vb. n. Holding. Holden, p. p., is obs. in elegant writing, though still used in legal language.] [OE. haldan, D. houden, OHG. hoten, Icel. halda, Dan. holde, Sw. h[*a]lla, Goth. haldan to feed, tend (the cattle); of unknown origin. Gf. Avast, Halt, Hod.] 1. To cause to remain in a given situation, position, or relation, within certain limits, or the like; to prevent from falling or escaping; to sustain; to restrain; to keep in the grasp; to retain. The loops held one curtain to another. --Ex. xxxvi. 12. Thy right hand shall hold me. --Ps. cxxxix. 10. They all hold swords, being expert in war. --Cant. iii. 8. In vain he seeks, that having can not hold. --Spenser. France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue, . . . A fasting tiger safer by the tooth, Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold. --Shak. 2. To retain in one's keeping; to maintain possession of, or authority over; not to give up or relinquish; to keep; to defend. We mean to hold what anciently we claim Of deity or empire. --Milton. 3. To have; to possess; to be in possession of; to occupy; to derive title to; as, to hold office. This noble merchant held a noble house. --Chaucer. Of him to hold his seigniory for a yearly tribute. --Knolles. And now the strand, and now the plain, they held. --Dryden. 4. To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain. We can not hold mortality's strong hand. --Shak. Death! what do'st? O,hold thy blow. --Grashaw. He hat not sufficient judgment and self-command to hold his tongue. --Macaulay. 5. To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain. Hold not thy peace, and be not still. --Ps. lxxxiii. 1. Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost, Shall hold their course. --Milton. 6. To prosecute, have, take, or join in, as something which is the result of united action; as to, hold a meeting, a festival, a session, etc.; hence, to direct and bring about officially; to conduct or preside at; as, the general held a council of war; a judge holds a court; a clergyman holds a service. I would hold more talk with thee. --Shak. 7. To receive and retain; to contain as a vessel; as, this pail holds milk; hence, to be able to receive and retain; to have capacity or containing power for. Broken cisterns that can hold no water. --Jer. ii. 13. One sees more devils than vast hell can hold. --Shak. 8. To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain. Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught. --2 Thes. ii.15. But still he held his purpose to depart. --Dryden. 9. To consider; to regard; to esteem; to account; to think; to judge. I hold him but a fool. --Shak. I shall never hold that man my friend. --Shak. The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. --Ex. xx. 7. 10. To bear, carry, or manage; as he holds himself erect; he holds his head high. Let him hold his fingers thus. --Shak. To hold a wager, to lay or hazard a wager. --Swift. To hold forth, to offer; to exhibit; to propose; to put forward. ``The propositions which books hold forth and pretend to teach.'' --Locke. To held in, to restrain; to curd. To hold in hand, to toy with; to keep in expectation; to have in one's power. [Obs.] O, fie! to receive favors, return falsehoods, And hold a lady in hand. --Beaw. & Fl. To hold in play, to keep under control; to dally with. --Macaulay. To hold off, to keep at a distance. To hold on, to hold in being, continuance or position; as, to hold a rider on. To hold one's day, to keep one's appointment. [Obs.] --Chaucer. To hold one's own.
Hold \Hold\, n. i.
In general, to keep one's self in a given position or
condition; to remain fixed. Hence:
1. Not to more; to halt; to stop;-mostly in the imperative.
And damned be him that first cries, ``Hold,
enough!'' --Shak.
2. Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to
remain unbroken or unsubdued.
Our force by land hath nobly held. --Shak.
3. Not to fail or be found wanting; to continue; to last; to
endure a test or trial; to abide; to persist.
While our obedience holds. --Milton.
The rule holds in land as all other commodities.
--Locke.
4. Not to fall away, desert, or prove recreant; to remain
attached; to cleave;-often with with, to, or for.
He will hold to the one and despise the other.
--Matt. vi. 24
5. To restrain one's self; to refrain.
His dauntless heart would fain have held From
weeping, but his eyes rebelled. --Dryden.
6. To derive right or title; -- generally with of.
My crown is absolute, and holds of none. --Dryden.
His imagination holds immediately from nature.
--Hazlitt.
Hold on! Hold up! wait; stop; forbear. [Collog] -- To
hold forth, to speak in public; to harangue; to preach.
--L'Estrange.
To hold in, to restrain one's self; as, he wanted to laugh
and could hardly hold in.
To hold off, to keep at a distance.
To hold on, to keep fast hold; to continue; to go on. ``The
trade held on for many years,'' --Swift.
To hold out, to last; to endure; to continue; to maintain
one's self; not to yield or give way.
To hold over, to remain in office, possession, etc., beyond
a certain date.
To hold to or with, to take sides with, as a person or
opinion.
To hold together, to be joined; not to separate; to remain
in union. --Dryden. --Locke.
To hold up.
(a) To support one's self; to remain unbent or unbroken;
as, to hold up under misfortunes.
(b) To cease raining; to cease to stop; as, it holds up.
--Hudibras.
(c) To keep up; not to fall behind; not to lose ground.
--Collier.
Hold \Hold\, n.
1. The act of holding, as in or with the hands or arms; the
manner of holding, whether firm or loose; seizure; grasp;
clasp; gripe; possession; -- often used with the verbs
take and lay.
Ne have I not twelve pence within mine hold.
--Chaucer.
Thou should'st lay hold upon him. --B. Jonson.
My soul took hold on thee. --Addison.
Take fast hold of instruction. --Pror. iv.
13.
2. The authority or ground to take or keep; claim.
The law hath yet another hold on you. --Shak.
3. Binding power and influence.
Fear . . . by which God and his laws take the surest
hold of. --Tillotson.
4. Something that may be grasped; means of support.
If a man be upon an high place without rails or good
hold, he is ready to fall. --Bacon.
5. A place of confinement; a prison; confinement; custody;
guard.
They . . . put them in hold unto the next day.
--Acts. iv. 3.
King Richard, he is in the mighty hold Of
Bolingbroke. --Shak.
6. A place of security; a fortified place; a fort; a castle;
-- often called a stronghold. --Chaucer.
New comers in an ancient hold --Tennyson.
7. (Mus.) A character [thus ?] placed over or under a note or
rest, and indicating that it is to be prolonged; -- called
also pause, and corona.
Corona \Co*ro"na\ (k?-r?"n?), n.; pl. L. Coron[ae] (-n?), E. Coronas (-n?z). [L. corona crown. See Crown.] 1. A crown or garland bestowed among the Romans as a reward for distinguished services. 2. (Arch.) The projecting part of a Classic cornice, the under side of which is cut with a recess or channel so as to form a drip. See Illust. of Column. 3. (Anat.) The upper surface of some part, as of a tooth or the skull; a crown. 4. (Zo["o]l.) The shelly skeleton of a sea urchin. 5. (Astrol.) A peculiar luminous appearance, or aureola, which surrounds the sun, and which is seen only when the sun is totally eclipsed by the moon. 6. (Bot.) (a) An inner appendage to a petal or a corolla, often forming a special cup, as in the daffodil and jonquil. (b) Any crownlike appendage at the top of an organ. 7. (Meteorol.) (a) A circle, usually colored, seen in peculiar states of the atmosphere around and close to a luminous body, as the sun or moon. (b) A peculiar phase of the aurora borealis, formed by the concentration or convergence of luminous beams around the point in the heavens indicated by the direction of the dipping needle. 8. A crown or circlet suspended from the roof or vaulting of churches, to hold tapers lighted on solemn occasions. It is sometimes formed of double or triple circlets, arranged pyramidically. Called also corona lucis. --Fairholt. 9. (Mus.) A character [[pause]] called the pause or hold.
Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Hold a fortress, the name given to David's lurking-places (1 Sam. 22:4, 5; 24:22).
