hold
 I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a bag holds sth
▪ I don't think that bag will hold all those books..
a container holds sth
▪ How much liquid will this container hold?
a court rules/orders/holds sth
▪ The court ruled that the penalty was not excessive.
a trial is held
▪ We believe the trial will be held sometime next month.
be held without bail
▪ He was being held without bail pending another hearing.
be held/kept in custody
▪ The men have been held in custody since they were arrested.
be stuck/caught/held up in traffic
▪ Sorry I’m late – I was stuck in traffic.
bear/hold etc no grudge
▪ He insisted that he held no grudge against Taylor.
caught hold of
▪ Miss Perry caught hold of my sleeve and pulled me back.
deeply held
▪ deeply held religious beliefs
funeral...held
▪ The funeral will be held at St. Martin’s Church.
grabbed hold of
▪ Kay grabbed hold of my arm to stop herself falling.
hang on a sec/hold on a sec/just a sec etc (=wait a short time)
▪ ‘Is Al there?’ ‘Hold on a sec, I’ll check.’
have/hold a competition
▪ Each year the school holds a painting competition.
have/hold a contest
▪ My college holds an athletics contest once a year.
have/hold a festival
▪ Tucson had a film festival last month.
have/hold a grudge
▪ The police asked if anyone might have had a grudge against the victim.
have/hold a lease
▪ Who has the lease on the flat?
have/hold a majority
▪ The Democratic party has a majority in the Senate.
have/hold a passport
▪ I have a Canadian passport.
have/hold a reception
▪ The wedding reception will be held at The Grand Hotel.
have/hold a seat
▪ The Liberals now hold 292 seats in Parliament.
have/hold a view (=have an opinion)
▪ He has very left-wing views.
have/hold an election
▪ The government plans to hold an election in November.
have/hold an evening (=organize an event in the evening)
▪ The college is holding an open evening on May 6th for year 9 to 11 pupils.
have/hold an opinion
▪ Everyone seemed to have a different opinion.
▪ He holds strong opinions on these issues.
have/hold dominion over sb/sth
▪ The King held dominion over a vast area.
have/hold talks
▪ He called on the rebels to hold talks with the government.
have/hold/carry a gun
▪ I could see he was carrying a gun.
have/hold/own shares
▪ A lot of the employees own shares in the company.
held a ballot
▪ Workers at the plant held a ballot and rejected strike action.
held accountable
▪ The hospital should be held accountable for the quality of care it gives.
held captive (=kept as a prisoner)
▪ a pilot who was held captive for six years
held hostage to
▪ Our country must not be held hostage to our past.
held in detention
▪ Willis was held in detention for five years.
held in escrow
▪ a property held in escrow
held in great affection (=loved and cared about a lot)
▪ The church was held in great affection by the local residents.
held in store
▪ As we left, I wondered what the future held in store.
held in trust
▪ The money your father left you will be held in trust until you are 21.
held incommunicado
▪ He is reportedly being held incommunicado at a military prison.
held sacred
▪ He had no respect for everything I held sacred.
held up to ridicule (=suffered ridicule)
▪ The government’s proposals were held up to ridicule by opposition ministers.
held...press conference
▪ The Green Party held a press conference the next day.
hold a belief
▪ He held this belief until the day he died.
hold a ceremony
▪ A ceremony was held in Berlin to mark the occasion.
hold a class (=provide a class)
▪ Evening classes are held in the local school.
hold a clinic (=arrange for a clinic to take place)
▪ The hospital holds vaccination clinics once a fortnight.
hold a clue (also yield a clueformal) (= provide one)
▪ The poem itself holds a clue about who it was written for.
hold a conference (=have one)
▪ Their annual conference was held in Chicago.
hold a consultation
▪ Further consultations will be held with local residents.
hold a degreeformal (= have one)
▪ The ideal candidate will hold a degree in physical chemistry.
hold a feast (=arrange for a feast to take place)
▪ The feast was held in the college dining hall.
hold a knife
▪ In his hand, he held a long knife.
hold a licenceBritish English (= have a licence)
▪ Police said that the man did not hold a firearms licence.
hold a meetingformal (= have a meeting)
▪ The meetings are usually held on a Friday.
hold a party
▪ The party was held at his flat.
hold a position (=have it)
▪ She had previously held a senior position in another school.
hold a position (=stay in a position)
▪ Pull in your tummy muscles and hold that position.
hold a post (=have a job)
▪ He had previously held the post of Foreign Minister.
hold a race
▪ The race will be held on February 25th.
hold a rank
▪ From 1 Dec 1914 to 31 Oct 1915 he held the rank of captain.
hold a record (=have it)
▪ Davies holds the record for most points in a season.
hold an execution (=carry one out)
▪ The executions will be held later today.
hold an inquiry
▪ The government has refused to hold an inquiry into the incident.
hold back the tears (=not cry even though you feel like crying)
▪ She gave her version of events, often struggling to hold back the tears.
hold down a job (=keep a job)
▪ He had never been able to hold down a job.
hold hands (with sb)
▪ Joanne and Kevin held hands on the sofa.
hold office (=have a particular important job or position)
▪ Trujillo held office as finance minister.
hold out hope (=say that you think something is likely)
▪ Negotiators did not hold out much hope of a peaceful solution.
hold power (=be in power)
▪ Economic disaster befell the country during the decade when he held power.
hold promise (=seem likely to be good or successful – used of things)
▪ The Internet clearly held great promise as an educational tool.
hold sb in high/great esteem
▪ The critics held him in high esteem as an actor.
hold sb responsible (for sth)
▪ If anything goes wrong, I will hold you personally responsible.
hold sb to their promise (=make them keep it)
▪ The next day, Gareth held me to my promise to take him fishing.
hold sb up as an example (=use someone as a good example of something)
▪ He was held up as an example to the younger athletes.
hold sb/sth in contempt (=have a low opinion of something or someone, and show it)
▪ He was one of those men who hold in contempt those who do not share his point of view.
hold sb/sth in high esteem/regard (=respect them very much)
▪ As an educationalist, he was held in very high esteem.
▪ Romsey earned high praise from his boss.
hold sb/sth in high regard
▪ Doctors are held in high regard by society.
hold sb’s gaze (=keep looking at someone who is looking at you)
▪ He held her gaze for a few seconds, then continued eating.
hold sway
▪ These old attitudes still hold sway in the church.
hold the championship
▪ The championships are being held next Sunday at the San Jose Arena.
Hold the line (=wait on the phone)
▪ Hold the line, please, and I’ll put you through to our sales department.
Hold tight
▪ Hold tight to the handrail!
hold your breath (=not breathe out for a few seconds or minutes)
▪ How long can you hold your breath underwater?
hold your nose (=so that you cannot smell a bad smell)
▪ The smell was so revolting that I had to hold my nose.
hold/bear sth aloft
▪ He emerged, holding a baby aloft.
hold/conduct a service
▪ The service was held in the chapel.
hold/control the purse strings
▪ It all comes down to who holds the purse strings.
hold/draw sb close (=hold someone against your body)
▪ He drew her close to him.
hold...general election (=have a general election)
▪ an attempt to persuade the government to hold a general election
hold/have a stake in sth
▪ He holds a 51% stake in the firm.
hold/have values
▪ People brought up in different times hold different social values.
hold/host a celebrationformal:
▪ The company is holding a celebration for its 75th anniversary.
holding company
holding pattern
▪ My career is in a holding pattern right now.
holding...hostage (=keeping them as hostages)
▪ The group are holding two tourists hostage.
holding...personally responsible
▪ I’m holding you personally responsible for this mess!
hold...inquest
▪ The coroner will hold an inquest into the deaths.
hold...inquest
▪ The Tories will hold a private inquest into why they were defeated.
hold/keep your nerve (=remain calm and confident in a difficult situation)
▪ The team held their nerve and went on to win.
hold/keep (yourself) aloof from sth
▪ The doctor held himself somewhat aloof from the rest of the ship’s crew.
hold/mount/stage an exhibition formal (= have an exhibition)
▪ Hayward Gallery is mounting an impressive exhibition of new British artists.
hold...referendum
▪ The city council agreed to hold a referendum on the issue in November.
hold/remain steady
▪ A recent poll showed his approval rating holding steady at 53 percent.
holds the balance of power (=is able to make either side more powerful than the other by supporting them)
▪ A small centre party holds the balance of power in the Assembly.
holds...spellbound
▪ ‘King Lear’ still holds audiences spellbound.
hold/stage a demonstration (=organize and take part in one)
▪ In April, students began holding demonstrations to demand more freedom.
hold/stage a rally
▪ The students had been refused permission to hold their rally in Victory Square.
hold/stage a sit-in
▪ Several thousand students staged sit-ins and protest marches.
hold/stage an event (=organize a public event)
▪ The charity plans to stage several fund-raising events this year.
hold/stage/mount a protest
▪ Opponents of the plan have staged several protests.
hold/store sth on a computer
▪ This data is all held on a central computer.
hold...summit
▪ The two presidents agreed to hold a summit in the spring.
keep a tight grip/hold/rein on sth (=control it very firmly)
▪ The former dictator still keeps a tight grip on power.
▪ Anna was determined to keep a tight hold on her feelings.
keep/hold onto a seat (also retain a seatformal) (= not lose it in an election)
▪ He is unlikely to retain his seat after next year's election.
▪ Labour managed to hold the seat, but with a reduced majority.
keep/hold yourself aloof (from sb)
▪ She had always kept herself aloof from the boys in class.
kept a tight hold on
▪ His mother kept a tight hold on his hand.
release your grip/hold (on sb/sth)
▪ The sudden noise made him release his hold on her arm.
sb's hand holds sth
▪ His other hand was holding his mobile phone.
sb’s luck holds (=they continue having good luck)
▪ Our luck held, and the weather remained fine.
securely locked/fastened/attached/held etc
▪ All firearms should be kept securely locked in a cabinet.
sth holds its value (=its value does not fall over time)
▪ Good quality furniture should hold its value.
sth holds/houses a collectionformal
▪ The museum holds a comprehensive collection of photographs from that period.
stretch/hold out your arms
▪ I dreamt I saw my mother again with her arms stretched out towards me.
strongly held/deeply held views (=strong views that someone is unwilling to change)
▪ He is known for his strongly held views on modern art.
strongly held/deeply held views (=strong views that someone is unwilling to change)
▪ He is known for his strongly held views on modern art.
take/hold a position (=have an opinion)
▪ We take the position that these changes are to be welcomed.
take/hold sb in your arms (=gently put your arms around someone you love)
▪ He took her in his arms and kissed her.
the police hold sb (also the police detain sbformal) (= keep them at a police station)
▪ The police can hold suspects for up to 48 hours without charge.
▪ The police detained several activists, but released them after questioning.
the weather holds (out) (=good weather continues in the same way)
▪ The forecast said the weather should hold until Tuesday.
what the future holds (=what will happen)
▪ He is worried about what the future holds for the company.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
 ADVERB
still
▪ He was still holding my arm but there was space between us.
▪ If both parties committed abandonment, adultery, or extreme cruelty, the union was still held to be inviolate.
▪ A little while later, still holding Maura in his arms, Michael threw his handful of dirt on to the coffin.
▪ I giggled with him, still holding back.
▪ However, the yacht club flourishes, and the regatta is still held.
▪ Why in the name of Bob Dole dressed as Carmen Miranda is that great steaming nonsense still held?
▪ He says they would still hold all the Liberal Deomcrat strongholds in the South.
▪ Remove the glass from the water, still holding it vertically, open side down.
NOUN
baby
▪ He could see a woman holding a young baby standing at the end of the hall.
▪ Her recovery had been slow, and she had not been able to see or hold her baby for twenty-four hours.
▪ Like many others, the problem was mostly the way she held the baby.
▪ When holding their baby, they experienced an overwhelming feeling of loving connection.
▪ Both hands free A sling like this enables you to hold your baby close without using your hands.
▪ Clarisa was sitting up in bed, propped against a pillow and holding the baby.
▪ Dad had his arm round Carrie, Carrie was cuddling Zen, Crystal was holding the new baby.
▪ Remember how Matt had to learn to hold his babies tight when they cried and had to overcome the boredom he felt?
balance
▪ During the general election the doggie vote could hold the balance of power.
▪ Since 1969 the centrist Free Democrats have held the balance of power in the Bundestag.
▪ But despite their endorsement in the municipal elections last October, it is not the moderates who hold the balance of power.
▪ A nebulous collective leadership, including the chiefs of the powerful armed forces, may still be holding the balance of power.
▪ Thomas Cranmer and Aleister Crowley were held in uneasy balance in his sympathies.
▪ One other group is expected to get more than 23 seats - and therefore to hold the balance of power.
belief
▪ Along with many of his contemporaries, Mercator held the Baconian belief that knowledge should be exploited for utilitarian ends.
▪ We are of the deeply held belief that many human beings have come to behave as materialistic tyrants.
▪ Do you hold any specific beliefs about what might be called beauty?
▪ Groups of work-inhibited students may reinforce mutually held beliefs that school is a negative environment.
▪ It was the commonly held belief then that never again would this communal beast be allowed to rear its head.
▪ We constantly challenged and reviewed our own most devoutly held beliefs.
▪ Ten years later, his new book shows that he no longer holds such a belief.
▪ He held a peculiar scientific belief relating to this matter.
breath
▪ He examined the pieces with the naked eye, then with his glass, while behind him Isobel held her breath.
▪ We held our breath from the fourth pick on.
▪ She didn't want to hear, but she held her breath and listened for any sound.
▪ As the others crossed their fingers and held their breath, he gently eased away the back plate.
▪ An anxious nation holds its breath.
▪ She held her breath and listened.
▪ We held our breath as Loi carefully pulled in the last few yards of line hand over hand.
conference
▪ In 1830, the National Association held its first conference.
▪ No one held a news conference to tout this one, and days passed before anyone caught wind of it.
▪ It holds an overnight conference during the Easter vacation.
▪ Fujimori said previous radio contacts broke off after the guerrillas held an impromptu news conference, disrupting negotiations up to that point.
▪ If it had only been possible to hold the conference without him!
▪ Recently, for example, Clinton held a news conference to explain what he had been doing vis-a-vis political contributors.
▪ The Maastricht treaty commits them to holding a big treaty-revising conference in 1996.
▪ The jurors in the criminal trial did not hold a news conference after their verdict and in many cases avoided in-depth interviews.
court
▪ If one party freely consents to a clause, a court is unlikely to hold it unreasonable.
▪ A key question for the court is whether Jackson held his views about Microsoft before he began hearing the case.
▪ First, a court might hold that there was no authority to make the rule and invalidate it.
▪ Several courts have held, however, that express disclaimers in employee handbooks can negate any promises made.
▪ Yesterday a court agreed to police holding them a further 36 hours.
▪ Some courts have held prior review procedures unconstitutional because they lacked either clear standards or due process safeguards.
▪ Alternatively, the court may hold that occupancy was shared between the guest and the hotel.
▪ Fears about the admissibility of electronic invoices as evidence in court proceedings have held back some factors.
election
▪ Yet there are still no plans to hold an election.
▪ Oklahoma is expected to hold a special election on the issue early next year.
▪ Why else would you hold an election?
▪ Dos Santos has suggested that he may hold national elections next year.
▪ After Diem refused to hold the elections in 1956, meanwhile, the Viet Minh in the South grew restive.
▪ He challenged de Klerk to hold a whites-only election.
▪ Why, oh why, could not the debate on the Bill be held after the general election?
exhibition
▪ Here are held temporary art exhibitions.
▪ The races are held at Exhibition Place.
▪ Leigh's retainer as a consultant has supported the space, which held five exhibitions until it closed this fall.
▪ In 1933 Schulz held exhibitions of his drawings and engravings in Warsaw.
▪ The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, which held its inaugural exhibition in 1888, came into being through his initiative.
hand
▪ His hand slid downwards, holding hers in a grip that was suddenly unbreakable.
▪ Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?
▪ I hold your hand and you hold mine.
▪ A single Macintosh disk, on the other hand, could hold ten of those chapters!
▪ A gasp escaped her as his arms clasped her against him, one hand holding her head to his shoulder.
▪ The hands that held the lines were freckled like tortillas.
▪ A hand holding a scrap of hanky pressed on her veil where her mouth was.
▪ I wait, hands held high, elbows still threatening to drip one last drop.
head
▪ Note how they hold their heads high above the surface.
▪ I saw how he held his head, slightly stiffly, and how the very air around him seemed charged.
▪ These teachers exerted considerable influence within the school, because they held positions as heads of departments or as year heads.
▪ He held my head as I pumped away.
▪ She held her head proudly and, even before she moved, conveyed a feline quality of grace and languor.
▪ A gladiator named Justice holding the distinctive Salinas head in one hand, a bloodied sword in the other.
▪ A gasp escaped her as his arms clasped her against him, one hand holding her head to his shoulder.
▪ The writer reached his side a minute after, to find General Hill holding the head and shoulders of the wounded chief.
hope
▪ And he could hold out no hope of any financial assistance.
▪ The sky, however, held out hope.
▪ When Topaz arrived at the residence of Lord Oswin Lovat she didn't hold out much hope of prising his purse open.
▪ Still, I held on to my hope.
▪ I want Fairfax to tell me, but I don't hold out much hope.
▪ I don't hold out much hope though!
▪ Look, don't hold out too much hope that you're going to be successful in this.
▪ For if the landscape holds some hope to the left it brings with it threats from the right.
hostage
▪ On 26 July 1986 Father Lawrence Jenco was released after being held hostage for 18 months.
▪ Don Nickles, R-Okla. who is holding the bill hostage because Sen.
▪ At least Shudder To Think refuse to hold history hostage.
▪ The Packers are owned by their fans, so the city can not be held hostage for a new stadium.
▪ One is the extent of her familiarity with Nestor Cerpa Cartolini, the leader of the rebels holding the hostages.
▪ In effect, Gingrich is holding the Interior Department hostage to his attempt to put new restrictions on Medicare patients.
▪ Yet, the Republican Party is being held hostage by the religious zealots.
key
▪ Then, hold down the Shift key and move the cursor to the end of the block you want selected.
▪ Teachers frequently believe it is the parents who hold the key and that they should do more to help.
▪ Jennifer Smith holds the key to the 1996 election, so it is as well to get to know her.
▪ Privatization could hold the key to upgrading the infrastructure.
▪ Zoom Control Move mouse over the molecule, hold Shift key, click and hold mouse button and drag.
▪ Some threatened species have special qualities or abilities and may hold the key to undiscovered benefits.
▪ That second paradox, I believe, holds the key to the mysteries that still envelop the new regime.
▪ It was a great exit, but I should have held on to the keys.
meeting
▪ Newcastle held their annual general meeting last night behind closed doors.
▪ It involves presentations to staff and parents, setting up exhibitions and holding meetings with key staff members.
▪ In the absence of conclusive consensus, it was agreed to hold a further meeting in Madrid in April 1991.
▪ We also hold regular meetings of volunteers to discuss issues of concern and encourage one another.
▪ Management is holding a series of meetings with workers today.
▪ If this were the case it would explain why they had not held meetings on this occasion.
▪ Schools should also hold meetings for prospective parents.
▪ The only optimistic statement came from the third cadre of military transport, which had recently held two cell meetings.
office
▪ High priority is given to any of their senior members who have held ministerial office.
▪ He stated that the civil service had been opened to people of all parties who were qualified to hold office.
▪ During the reign of John, Hugh de Neville held that office.
▪ A citizen should play an active part.-He might hold a local office.
▪ Other peers who hold or have held high judicial office may sit but rarely do so.
▪ Nor did it stipulate how long the incumbent would hold office until fresh elections produced a successful candidate.
▪ After the Restoration he was one of those not actually attainted but perpetually disabled from holding any office.
▪ A Director so appointed shall hold office only until the next following annual general meeting.
position
▪ In both cases Black might still be able to hold the position.
▪ Mayers has been with the company for 10 years and has held several positions.
▪ He has also held the position of factory manager.
▪ Paul, and has held other executive positions in the Twin Cities and Grand Forks area.
▪ These teachers exerted considerable influence within the school, because they held positions as heads of departments or as year heads.
▪ Still, the region holds a respectable position in the information-heavy world.
▪ Even if you hold some position of great authority, you don't have to be solemn all the time.
▪ I had advanced through the ranks and held a responsible middle-management position.
post
▪ That did not make him a great writer, nor did that fact prevent his holding an important literary post.
▪ House Republican Conference rules prohibit a censured lawmaker from being a committee chairman or holding a leadership post.
▪ She held the post till her retirement thirty years later.
▪ Two of the ministers particularly distinguished themselves by holding the post for a six-month period.
▪ He held the post until November 1922 - the longest period for which a Weimar Chancellor had yet survived.
▪ Zlatoper has held several Pentagon posts, including military assistant to the secretary of defense from 1983 to 1985.
▪ He had held the post only since January.
▪ The proportion of women who hold senior political posts remains low.
promise
▪ So too the yawning depths of the wave, even while threatening annihilation, hold out the promise of rebirth.
▪ Frustration of my plans to lighten the disaster will convince people that the future holds no promise to them.
▪ Clark's work clearly holds promise of a new class of antimalarials, even though there is much still to be done.
▪ State access Smart communities hold a lot of promise for state officials.
▪ For the moment Christmas on the slopes holds little promise.
▪ It is an experience that holds out promise of perfection.
▪ The report presents a strong case for continuing work on gasification although south south cooperation would seem to hold most promise.
▪ Economic advance still holds little promise of betterment for the average man in many countries.
record
▪ The situation is modified when records are stored in buckets holding several records, but synonyms still occur.
▪ Brian Treggs holds the record with 167 career receptions.
▪ They also hold the League's record score a 21-0 win over North Skelton Rovers in 1895.
▪ And it came from a famous maker: another Farman, a Goliath, had held the endurance record in 1921.
▪ How long should I hold on to records?
▪ Before that, Microsoft Corp. held the record of 47. 93 million shares traded, on June 6, 1994.
▪ Finance holds income and expenditure records, together with annual accounts, departmental expenditure records, and an Asset Register.
▪ It held the box-office record until Gone with the wind moved more tickets in 1939 and 1940.
referendum
▪ We should not go so far as to hold a referendum, but the people must have the final say.
▪ If it is approved, 30-day period opens for anyone wishing to hold a referendum drive to overturn the deal.
▪ On the subject of the draft union treaty, Gorbachev introduced the idea of holding a referendum on it throughout the country.
▪ Moldavia refused to hold the referendum on the grounds that it would worsen ethnic tensions in the republic.
▪ Why hold a referendum, when no one could challenge the imposition of his will?
▪ It has prompted President De Klerk to hold a referendum to guage white support on ending apartheid.
▪ June 25: Moldavia's President Snegur announced that the republic would hold a referendum on independence in the autumn.
▪ In 1992 western governments had allowed Bosnia to hold a referendum and become an independent state.
seat
▪ In fact, if that result were repeated we would hold all our 28 seats and gain four more from Labour.
▪ The group of smaller Catholic parties allied with Berlusconi hold 34 seats.
▪ For the moment, Mr Rocard is probably just praying that he can hold on to his seat in the Yvelines.
▪ I leaned forward, holding on to the seat in front of me.
▪ I was floating, held by my seat belt.
▪ Allen Hightower, a Democrat who has held his seat since 1983.
▪ He was returned for Aldershot in 1970 and held the seat until 1997, when he did not seek re-election.
▪ Republicans, at the moment, hold 41 seats while Democrats have 37.
view
▪ I used to hold a similar view.
▪ The percentage of voters who hold a favorable view of Gramm has declined from 54 percent in 1990 to 41 percent.
▪ Freud, however, did not hold this view and hoped to find the true root of his patients' hysteria.
▪ One who held to this view was Lord Kelvin himself.
▪ There is a further complication in that individuals hold views about health at a variety of different levels of analysis.
▪ That was not a widely held view when Republicans arrived here a week ago.
▪ The economic conditions of the 19705 do not lead to optimism if one continues to hold this view.
▪ At the end of his first six months in office, 45 percent of Texans surveyed held a negative view of Clinton.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a firm grip/hold/grasp etc
▪ As darkness gains a firmer grip the songbirds fade and the owls start.
▪ As soon as one does so, its lips close around it, giving it a firm hold.
▪ But at current levels the shares are a firm hold.
▪ Choose a firm hold variant which will keep your style in place during winder weather and light drizzle.
▪ Clumps of sturdy weed grew wherever they could take a firm hold.
▪ I keep a firm grip on my hat and stare into the blustery abyss.
▪ It's safe but you need to have a firm grip to cut a 13-amp flex.
▪ Usually this happens because the task is too broadly stated to get a firm grasp on it.
a tight hold/grip
▪ The new business manager has a tight hold on the budget.
▪ Apple, however, kept a tight grip on its technology and suffered the consequences.
▪ Dominic crept carefully down the stairs, keeping a tight hold on the gleaming mahogany banister.
▪ He had a tight hold on the audience, totally in command of his band.
▪ It should not be imagined that the tiny Party élite at either of these provincial levels could maintain a tight hold.
▪ She would be keeping a tight hold on her feelings from now on.
▪ The best way for the government to achieve this is to keep a tight grip on the tigerish tendencies of the economy.
▪ The purge reflects the party leadership's concern with keeping a tight hold on the political reins.
▪ We got up, he pushed me roughly towards the door, keeping a tight hold of me.
be stuck/held fast
▪ A character who is held fast can not move or fight, and is treated as prone.
▪ Balor was struggling and writhing, but his limbs were held fast and only his thick, shapeless body could move.
▪ Persephone sprang into her arms and was held fast there.
▪ She tried to pull her hand free, but it was held fast.
▪ She tried to struggle, but she was held fast.
can't hold a candle to sb/sth
▪ Basketball stars today can't hold a candle to Michael Jordan.
don't hold your breath
▪ If you're waiting for the Cubs to win the series, don't hold your breath.
extend/offer/hold out etc an olive branch (to sb)
get (hold of) the wrong end of the stick
have a sure hold/footing
have/hold sth in your hot little hand
have/hold/want no truck with sb/sth
▪ But it does lead inevitably to ignorance, for you can not understand what you deliberately chose to have no truck with.
▪ Its radicals, who dominate the leadership, want no truck with Mr Gorbachev.
▪ Then the people who get penalised are the majority who want no truck with him.
▪ We in the Conservative Party have no truck with that style of gutter journalism which we were forced to endure last Sunday.
hold court
▪ The days when he held court at the hotel's supper club seem far away now.
▪ Artists who have arrived at that position are expected to sit still and hold court.
▪ Baseball raconteur Bill Rigney is holding court at a window table.
▪ For hour after hour, without a break, clearly relishing the attention, Kevorkian holds court.
▪ I am holding court, lady of the mansion.
▪ Instead, he could hold court for his many buyers in his studio garage.
▪ Ken Bradshaw was holding court among a handful of Waimea veterans.
▪ Somewhere in the smoky crowd the authoress and photographer, Jill Freedman from New York, was holding court.
hold sb for ransom
hold sb to ransom
▪ The president said that the company would not be held to ransom by strikes.
▪ What gives cheaper fuel campaigners the right to hold the country to ransom?
▪ By his behaviour Yeltsin has held Clinton to ransom.
▪ It attacks the foundations of a free society, encouraging those with industrial or commercial muscle to hold others to ransom.
▪ The countries that control it will be able to hold their clients to ransom.
▪ The idea of one global power holding the other to ransom seems less credible now than it has done previously.
▪ They could buy out national debts, hold governments to ransom, close down whole economies if they wanted to.
▪ What's outrageous is that one powerful and greedy bully, followed by its lackeys, can hold the world to ransom.
▪ Without some such law the rich could hold the poor to ransom.
hold sth at arm's length
hold sth dear
▪ Everything I held dear was destroyed in the war.
hold the aces
hold up your head
▪ He had held up his head in the most exalted company.
▪ How does he hold up his head if he knows his wife is deceiving him?
hold/hang on for/like grim death
hold/have sb in the palm of your hand
▪ She's got the whole committee in the palm of her hand.
hold/keep your end up
▪ It helped them keep their end up in battle, too, claim historians.
▪ It is difficult to get skips in this age group capable of keeping their end up at this level of competition.
▪ Richter kept his end up by arranging a press visit to Huemul Island on 21 June, 1951.
hold/keep your peace
▪ And since the credit accrued to him, he held his peace.
▪ But Kate knew when enough was enough so she kept her peace.
▪ But she held her peace and waited for the miracle.
▪ Colonel Fergusson nodded indulgently at such pertness and obstinacy, but held his peace.
▪ Gorbachev, like any husband in his circumstances, kept his peace.
▪ No, better to hold her peace and pretend.
▪ So I decide to hold my peace for a little while longer.
▪ Why did he want to hold his peace?
hold/stand your ground
▪ As his father approached, Richard retreated steadily, never once daring to stand his ground against him.
▪ I calculate, I stand my ground.
▪ Not enough to start a war; just enough to let me stand my ground without having to think about it first.
▪ Richmann stood his ground, certain he would be able to jump out of the. way if things went wrong.
▪ The guide, however, stood his ground, frantically giving me unrecognizable signs.
▪ The Housing Executive stood its ground and refused to transfer money earmarked for other projects.
▪ Williams' job was to hold his ground or drop into pass coverage.
▪ You know when to stand your ground and when to give in.
keep/hold sb at arm's length
▪ Economic policies kept the Soviet Union and Japan at arm's length during the Cold War.
keep/hold sb/sth in check
▪ The court heard that the general was unable to keep his troops in check.
▪ The disease is held in check by weekly injections of a power drug.
▪ A small bag of zeolite was used for three days, every two weeks to keep ammonia in check.
▪ But it was rookie Coach Ray Rhodes who gets the most credit for keeping the team in check.
▪ Churn makes it harder for charities to raise money, keeps real-estate prices in check and politics volatile.
▪ His own temper rose, but he held it in check.
▪ In one important area the Navy held its ambitions in check for bargaining reasons within the Whitehall market-place.
▪ Mulch plants each spring with straw to conserve moisture and keep weeds in check.
▪ What is new is that the controls which held this population in check no longer exist.
keep/hold sth at bay
▪ Sandbags kept the floodwaters at bay.
▪ The government hopes to keep inflation at bay.
▪ All in all, the eatery is a breakfast bargain, with enough different components to keep boredom at bay.
▪ Another technique for keeping performance anxiety at bay is the group sing-along.
▪ Brown has kept the tumult at bay.
▪ Concentrating on Emma would help to keep her worries at bay for a little while.
▪ He was gritting his teeth against the pain, keeping it at bay while he studied the stump, the severed hand.
▪ My voice holds them at bay.
▪ She holds the adventurers at bay by holding the scroll over a candle flame and threatening to destroy it.
▪ Two green glazed lions guarded the gates to keep evil spirits at bay.
put/hold a gun to sb's head
▪ He might as well have put a gun to my head.
stand/hold firm
▪ Although momentarily tempted by the seductively rich chocolate dessert Sabrina's willpower held firm and she gave it to Graham.
▪ Another went to a selectman for standing firm.
▪ But de Gaulle held firm because he knew that time was working in his favour.
▪ C., held firm, since the federal government kept hiring more and more bureaucrats.
▪ He stands firm on his convictions.
▪ Last week the closely held firm announced it had sold $ 17. 25 million worth of limited partnership interests.
▪ Mr Scargill urged the miners to prepare for battle: they must stand firm over their wage claim.
▪ They need to describe initially what issues they want to stand firm on and what issues they can give way to.
stand/serve/hold sb in good stead
▪ As a small boy, I devised my own set of cartoon animals, and they now stood me in good stead.
▪ But her beloved circus may have served her in better stead than regular outings to, say, the ballet.
▪ Despite his lack of political experience, Clouthier's 20-year leadership of business organisations stood him in good stead.
▪ Insomnia would stand him in good stead in this expanse of knee-high cover.
▪ Now we had moved on to bigger and better things, this predictability still stood us in good stead.
▪ These shoes had stood him in good stead.
▪ This habit of work, which is by now natural to me, has stood me in good stead.
▪ Those contacts, he says, still serve him in good stead today.
wait a minute/just a minute/hold on a minute/hang on a minute
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ A blank data disk can hold about 360,000 characters.
▪ a situation in which a husband and wife both hold shares in a family company
▪ A smiling woman holding a can of beer came over to us.
▪ As long as the mild weather holds, you can keep planting.
▪ Each carton holds 113 oranges.
▪ Heat the stock in a pot large enough to hold the fish.
▪ I held her until she went to sleep.
▪ I held the money tightly in my hand.
▪ I got the post office to hold our mail while we were on vacation.
▪ I just want a shelf that will hold some plants.
▪ I took a glass of champagne from the tray the waiter held out.
▪ IBM still holds shares in the new company.
▪ In the photograph there was a small boy holding a flag.
▪ Lost items will be held for thirty days.
▪ Militant prisoners held 24 guards hostage on Friday, as jail unrest spread throughout the country.
▪ No one knows where the kidnapped woman is being held.
▪ Police are holding two men for questioning in connection with the robbery.
▪ Several tourists were being held captive by rebels in Kashmir.
▪ She held a baby in her arms.
▪ She works for Le Monde, where the staff hold a significant stake in the company.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Galvanized metal buckets, filled with ice, can hold beverages such as small bottles of ice tea, juices and water.
▪ I held him under the spigot and squeezed his chest as the icy water ran over him.
▪ No state yet to hold a primary has as many major media markets as Ohio.
▪ Plans are well advanced to hold two-day Workshops for staff of colleges invited to progress their Pilot Proposals to Stage 2.
▪ So she rode slowly through them, mostly holding her breath and praying that they wouldn't charge at her.
▪ The Van Gogh holds the world auction price record of $ 82.5m.
▪ Twenty-four solar systems held by the enemy had recently been destroyed.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
ADJECTIVE
firm
▪ But at current levels the shares are a firm hold.
▪ As she staggered awkwardly, he grabbed firm hold of the sagging pyjama-jacket, arresting her flight as he held her there.
▪ Clumps of sturdy weed grew wherever they could take a firm hold.
▪ As soon as one does so, its lips close around it, giving it a firm hold.
▪ Recognizing the all-too familiar symptoms, Manville fought against the gathering depression before it took too firm a hold on him.
▪ Each brush has a heat-resistant handle with a rubber-neck grip for firm hold while you style.
▪ Teachers of reading need to keep a firm hold of their hats, their expertise and their integrity.
strong
▪ Many other features of late medieval Catholicism exercised a similarly strong hold over the popular mind.
▪ Styled by Scissors Gel maintains its strong hold on styling as one of the essential hair products for men.
▪ Evil has such a strong hold on Gollum that he does not have control over his own mind any more.
tight
▪ She would be keeping a tight hold on her feelings from now on.
▪ We got up, he pushed me roughly towards the door, keeping a tight hold of me.
▪ The tighter political hold was in part a reaction to the worsening economic and organizational situation in cultural affairs.
▪ He had a tight hold on the audience, totally in command of his band.
▪ Philip gripped tight hold of Caspar's collar.
▪ The tight hold was maintained by Thatcher's government.
▪ For Winnie herself, it required the tightest hold, the fumes of the stuff, to keep her wits about her.
▪ Keep tight hold and continue while there's time.
NOUN
cargo
▪ She was in the cargo hold, standing on the ribbed floor of the shuttle next to the loading hatch.
▪ And a third beam was forced into the cargo hold.
▪ Demyonov had gone home last week in an elaborate casket dark inside the cargo hold of a Tupolev airliner.
▪ That would force airline workers to retrieve that travelers' bag from the cargo hold.
▪ Chests of tea and bales of wool can be found in the lower cargo hold.
▪ There were dull thuds from the cargo hold.
▪ If the wiring were overheating, it could have caused oxygen-generating canisters in the cargo hold to explode, he said.
VERB
break
▪ Huey the Snake had a grip on the local drugs network, so the Richardson's moved in to break his hold.
▪ He is not a moderate who wants to break the conservative hold on the party.
▪ Generally, if attempting to break a hold avoid big movements.
▪ And before she could break the hold, the king's remark turned all attention on her again.
▪ Graham broke the hold and swivelled Samir round as Al-Makesh fired.
catch
▪ Taking her completely by surprise, he caught hold of her arm and pulled her towards him.
▪ Bowman caught hold of the short lever fastened to the valve and with his last strength pulled it down.
▪ It caught hold of a chair and, with a great deal of grunting, managed to tip it over.
▪ On March 4 she caught hold of the end of her buggy and twice pulled herself to her feet.
▪ She wanted desperately to catch hold of his arm, to stop him walking out of her life.
▪ He fainted from pain but caught hold of the iron railing of a house and remained erect.
▪ He went down trying to catch hold of the breath he'd just lost.
get
▪ All I'd been told was to get hold of her and scare her, get Gerald rattled, you know.
▪ She wanted to know how she could get hold of that poem, and maybe that whole book.
▪ Pieper tried and failed to get hold of the outfits to brief them and to gauge their reaction.
▪ How had he got hold of that name?
▪ He'd like to get hold of a gun and blow them all away.
▪ Police are concerned that the poison may be dumped and children may get hold of it.
▪ Then you put a good big handle on it, so that everyone can get hold of it and pick it up.
grab
▪ It is remarkable, Hardin, how the religion of science has grabbed hold.
▪ She grabbed hold of it and peered down the microscope again.
▪ He grabbed hold of the chainlink fence that surrounded the empty schoolyard.
▪ They grab hold of the killer's flesh, clamp tight and then cast off the claw.
▪ Life began when energy grabbed hold of some dust and would not let it go.
▪ But Daine was smart enough to grab hold of you.
▪ A couple of lads grab hold of the Monkey and stuff a rag in his mouth.
keep
▪ I kept good hold of her, part-dragging her after me.
▪ It is the parallel and barefaced cheek of their methods to keep hold of political office that really takes the breath away.
▪ She would be keeping a tight hold on her feelings from now on.
▪ This, I thought, was how South Vermont kept hold of its errant children.
▪ If only you had kept hold of McGovern and O'Hare, you won't find players like them in a hurry.
▪ The economists at Goldman Sachs believe that rates will be kept on hold for all of next year.
▪ Then you could catch your knave speedily and keep hold of him.
▪ Instead, she had kept hold of herself, saving face.
loosen
▪ Culley waited for the spasm to pass, and loosened his hold a fraction.
▪ It was on a block where he encountered three soldiers that he began to loosen his hold on the sequence.
▪ It will be intriguing to see how Brecht's play stands up at a time when Communism is loosening its ideological hold.
lose
▪ There was a quietness about her that Mary had seen before when people were losing their hold on life.
▪ But old habits are losing their hold on me.
▪ It has also warned that some customers could be faced with paying more if it lost its hold on the household market.
▪ Behind her head the television lost its vertical hold and the picture scrolled slowly upward.
▪ Religion lost its hold on the social imagination when it was seen to embody qualities opposed to science: irrationality and superstition.
▪ He feels the rum starting to lose its hold.
▪ Any cuckoo nestling that lost its hold, even momentarily, over its host would have died as a result.
▪ Primo could feel his fingers losing hold of the on / off switch of his intake valve.
maintain
▪ Styled by Scissors Gel maintains its strong hold on styling as one of the essential hair products for men.
▪ Chapter books require that we and our children maintain our hold on the story line over the duration of the reading period.
▪ To gain and maintain his hold over the Company Sulivan had to become a formidable politician and he inevitably made many enemies.
▪ It should not be imagined that the tiny Party élite at either of these provincial levels could maintain a tight hold.
place
▪ According to some commentators the peace process would effectively be placed on hold at least until January 1993 when Clinton took office.
▪ The soft drink deal was placed on hold last year after the Postal Service Board of Governors learned of the federal investigation.
▪ But he shows no bitterness that his life was placed on hold for 12 months while he made a full recovery.
▪ Instead, his life was placed on hold.
▪ It was placed on hold because of the court action.
put
▪ It gave her a chance to put everything on hold for a brief while, recharge the batteries after a flight.
▪ Misgivings about the impact of the bomb could be put on hold.
▪ She also had been able to put her feelings on hold as she concentrated on the problems facing her.
▪ Cold temperatures do not kill bacteria, they just put them on hold.
▪ These projects have been put on hold indefinitely.
▪ Her own plans had to be put on hold.
▪ All that was put on hold on March 20, 1990.
▪ If the justices rule for Clinton, the lawsuit will be put on hold for four more years.
release
▪ It was a long time before Guy released his fierce hold on her, and reluctantly thrust her away from him.
▪ She exacted a public promise from Chaffee that he would release his hold on the bill.
▪ Tamar would have been happy to finish the association, but Davis would not release his hold on her.
▪ Before dispatching the rabbit it is necessary to induce the ferret to release its hold.
▪ It opens its mouth to scream and releases its hold.
retain
▪ He retained his hold on her wrist but made no move to pull her to her feet.
seize
▪ She seized hold of the door handle and tried to open it.
▪ One of the snakes had seized hold of its own tail and the form whirled mockingly before my eyes.
▪ Alison had seized hold of Franca's long plait of dark hair and drawn it out from behind the chair.
take
▪ An anti-doctor religion apparently took hold here in the 1920s.
▪ Her imagination took hold of the idea and terrorized her at the thought of the hospital catching fire.
▪ Then with an energy which he had not yet displayed he took hold of Patrick.
▪ We funded those actions out of our many savings elsewhere, as our family of quality programs took hold.
▪ Whatever affects us deeply will also take hold of our souls.
▪ The wine Adrienne had kept passing to her was taking hold of an empty stomach.
▪ As the wine took hold I glanced in her direction with increasing frequency, often to find her already looking at me.
▪ Grief took hold of Achilles, so black that those around him feared for his life.
tighten
▪ The suspended despair inside her splintered into a shuddering sob and Fernando tightened his hold on her.
▪ But the king merely tightened his hold, as if all this energy had sweated drunkenness out of him.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a firm grip/hold/grasp etc
▪ As darkness gains a firmer grip the songbirds fade and the owls start.
▪ As soon as one does so, its lips close around it, giving it a firm hold.
▪ But at current levels the shares are a firm hold.
▪ Choose a firm hold variant which will keep your style in place during winder weather and light drizzle.
▪ Clumps of sturdy weed grew wherever they could take a firm hold.
▪ I keep a firm grip on my hat and stare into the blustery abyss.
▪ It's safe but you need to have a firm grip to cut a 13-amp flex.
▪ Usually this happens because the task is too broadly stated to get a firm grasp on it.
a tight hold/grip
▪ The new business manager has a tight hold on the budget.
▪ Apple, however, kept a tight grip on its technology and suffered the consequences.
▪ Dominic crept carefully down the stairs, keeping a tight hold on the gleaming mahogany banister.
▪ He had a tight hold on the audience, totally in command of his band.
▪ It should not be imagined that the tiny Party élite at either of these provincial levels could maintain a tight hold.
▪ She would be keeping a tight hold on her feelings from now on.
▪ The best way for the government to achieve this is to keep a tight grip on the tigerish tendencies of the economy.
▪ The purge reflects the party leadership's concern with keeping a tight hold on the political reins.
▪ We got up, he pushed me roughly towards the door, keeping a tight hold of me.
be stuck/held fast
▪ A character who is held fast can not move or fight, and is treated as prone.
▪ Balor was struggling and writhing, but his limbs were held fast and only his thick, shapeless body could move.
▪ Persephone sprang into her arms and was held fast there.
▪ She tried to pull her hand free, but it was held fast.
▪ She tried to struggle, but she was held fast.
cop hold of sth
don't hold your breath
▪ If you're waiting for the Cubs to win the series, don't hold your breath.
extend/offer/hold out etc an olive branch (to sb)
get (hold of) the wrong end of the stick
have a sure hold/footing
have/hold sth in your hot little hand
have/hold/want no truck with sb/sth
▪ But it does lead inevitably to ignorance, for you can not understand what you deliberately chose to have no truck with.
▪ Its radicals, who dominate the leadership, want no truck with Mr Gorbachev.
▪ Then the people who get penalised are the majority who want no truck with him.
▪ We in the Conservative Party have no truck with that style of gutter journalism which we were forced to endure last Sunday.
hold court
▪ The days when he held court at the hotel's supper club seem far away now.
▪ Artists who have arrived at that position are expected to sit still and hold court.
▪ Baseball raconteur Bill Rigney is holding court at a window table.
▪ For hour after hour, without a break, clearly relishing the attention, Kevorkian holds court.
▪ I am holding court, lady of the mansion.
▪ Instead, he could hold court for his many buyers in his studio garage.
▪ Ken Bradshaw was holding court among a handful of Waimea veterans.
▪ Somewhere in the smoky crowd the authoress and photographer, Jill Freedman from New York, was holding court.
hold sth at arm's length
hold sth dear
▪ Everything I held dear was destroyed in the war.
hold up your head
▪ He had held up his head in the most exalted company.
▪ How does he hold up his head if he knows his wife is deceiving him?
hold/hang on for/like grim death
hold/have sb in the palm of your hand
▪ She's got the whole committee in the palm of her hand.
hold/keep your end up
▪ It helped them keep their end up in battle, too, claim historians.
▪ It is difficult to get skips in this age group capable of keeping their end up at this level of competition.
▪ Richter kept his end up by arranging a press visit to Huemul Island on 21 June, 1951.
hold/keep your peace
▪ And since the credit accrued to him, he held his peace.
▪ But Kate knew when enough was enough so she kept her peace.
▪ But she held her peace and waited for the miracle.
▪ Colonel Fergusson nodded indulgently at such pertness and obstinacy, but held his peace.
▪ Gorbachev, like any husband in his circumstances, kept his peace.
▪ No, better to hold her peace and pretend.
▪ So I decide to hold my peace for a little while longer.
▪ Why did he want to hold his peace?
hold/stand your ground
▪ As his father approached, Richard retreated steadily, never once daring to stand his ground against him.
▪ I calculate, I stand my ground.
▪ Not enough to start a war; just enough to let me stand my ground without having to think about it first.
▪ Richmann stood his ground, certain he would be able to jump out of the. way if things went wrong.
▪ The guide, however, stood his ground, frantically giving me unrecognizable signs.
▪ The Housing Executive stood its ground and refused to transfer money earmarked for other projects.
▪ Williams' job was to hold his ground or drop into pass coverage.
▪ You know when to stand your ground and when to give in.
keep/hold sb/sth in check
▪ The court heard that the general was unable to keep his troops in check.
▪ The disease is held in check by weekly injections of a power drug.
▪ A small bag of zeolite was used for three days, every two weeks to keep ammonia in check.
▪ But it was rookie Coach Ray Rhodes who gets the most credit for keeping the team in check.
▪ Churn makes it harder for charities to raise money, keeps real-estate prices in check and politics volatile.
▪ His own temper rose, but he held it in check.
▪ In one important area the Navy held its ambitions in check for bargaining reasons within the Whitehall market-place.
▪ Mulch plants each spring with straw to conserve moisture and keep weeds in check.
▪ What is new is that the controls which held this population in check no longer exist.
keep/hold sth at bay
▪ Sandbags kept the floodwaters at bay.
▪ The government hopes to keep inflation at bay.
▪ All in all, the eatery is a breakfast bargain, with enough different components to keep boredom at bay.
▪ Another technique for keeping performance anxiety at bay is the group sing-along.
▪ Brown has kept the tumult at bay.
▪ Concentrating on Emma would help to keep her worries at bay for a little while.
▪ He was gritting his teeth against the pain, keeping it at bay while he studied the stump, the severed hand.
▪ My voice holds them at bay.
▪ She holds the adventurers at bay by holding the scroll over a candle flame and threatening to destroy it.
▪ Two green glazed lions guarded the gates to keep evil spirits at bay.
leave go/hold of sth
▪ Sometimes the girl did not leave hold of her swing, and the act failed.
loosen your grip/hold
▪ He made a choking noise, and Marco loosened his grip fractionally.
▪ I felt a shock charge through my hand and could not loosen my grip.
▪ Instead, he waited until the first fierce flood of tears had passed, then loosened his grip on her a little.
▪ It was on a block where he encountered three soldiers that he began to loosen his hold on the sequence.
▪ Richard first noticed me from across the street as he loosened his grip on the lamppost.
▪ The woman jabbed her cigarette into the man's face and he loosened his grip.
▪ When I loosened my grip on him he tried to run back toward Clarisa, stumbling and crawling.
▪ When there is none, he loosens his grip and turns away.
relax your hold/grip
▪ But attitudes of this kind took time to gain the upper hand: the past relaxed its grip only slowly.
▪ He relaxed his grip on the mug, rolled his sleeves down, pushed his chair back.
▪ Never for one moment does this shimmering, simmering emotional desert storm of a film relax its grip on your senses.
▪ The pilots cautiously relaxed their grip and let their muscles slacken.
▪ Then with excruciating slowness he relaxed his hold, allowing her to back away a pace.
▪ Weeping with merriment, gleeful through and through, she never relaxed her grip.
▪ When he tries to say something I relax my grip.
stand/hold firm
▪ Although momentarily tempted by the seductively rich chocolate dessert Sabrina's willpower held firm and she gave it to Graham.
▪ Another went to a selectman for standing firm.
▪ But de Gaulle held firm because he knew that time was working in his favour.
▪ C., held firm, since the federal government kept hiring more and more bureaucrats.
▪ He stands firm on his convictions.
▪ Last week the closely held firm announced it had sold $ 17. 25 million worth of limited partnership interests.
▪ Mr Scargill urged the miners to prepare for battle: they must stand firm over their wage claim.
▪ They need to describe initially what issues they want to stand firm on and what issues they can give way to.
tighten your grip/hold on sth
▪ He tightened his grip on the sub-machine-gun, waited for the helicopter to slow and swing towards him.
▪ His arm shook and he tightened his grip on the stock of the rifle to still it.
▪ However, planning permission is required, and legislation is tightening its grip on mast sites.
▪ It was only when they tensed, curling and tightening their grip on the floor, did he realise they were alive.
▪ Oats tightened his grip on the axe.
▪ The suspended despair inside her splintered into a shuddering sob and Fernando tightened his hold on her.
▪ There were months of interrogations, torture and repression as the military tightened its grip on the country.
▪ They tightened their grip on the girl.
wait a minute/just a minute/hold on a minute/hang on a minute
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ I tightened my hold on the child as we crossed the busy road.
▪ In this form of wrestling there are a number of different holds, each used in a different situation.
▪ Kara tightened her hold on the bat.
▪ My mother relaxed, and loosened her hold on my hand.
▪ Prevost asked me if I still had hold of my camera.
▪ The cliff is steep and it's difficult to find a hold.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Analysts say the company has a potential to become extremely profitable if the technology takes hold.
▪ And I think I just might try to get hold of Mark.
▪ Bowman caught hold of the short lever fastened to the valve and with his last strength pulled it down.
▪ But when you get hold of the document and look at the detail you're in for a nasty surprise.
▪ Here was a gravity you could argue with; here was a horizon close enough to reach out and grasp hold of.
▪ It was a bit late for that, since the press had got hold of the story anyway.
▪ The wine Adrienne had kept passing to her was taking hold of an empty stomach.
hold
I. hold1 S1 W1 /həʊld $ hoʊld/ verb (past tense and past participle held /held/)
[Word Family: noun: hold, holder, holding; verb: hold]
[Language : Old English; Origin : healdan]
1. IN YOUR HAND/ARMS
a) [TRANSITIVE]
to have something in your hand, hands, or arms:
▪ Could you hold my bag for me?
hold something in your hand/arms
▪ He was holding a knife in one hand.
▪ I held the baby in my arms.
hold hands (=hold each other’s hands)
▪ They sat holding hands under a tree.
hold somebody close/tightly (=with your arms around someone)
▪ Max held her close and wiped away her tears.
b) [TRANSITIVE ALWAYS + ADVERB/PREPOSITION]
to move your hand or something in your hand in a particular direction
hold something out/up etc
▪ He held out his hand to help her to her feet.
▪ Hold the picture up so we can see it.
2. EVENT [TRANSITIVE]to have a meeting, party, election etc in a particular place or at a particular time:
▪ This year’s conference will be held at the Hilton Hotel.
▪ A thanksgiving ceremony was held to mark the occasion.
▪ The funeral was held on a grey day in November.
▪ In April, the President held talks with Chinese leaders.
3. KEEP SOMETHING IN POSITION [TRANSITIVE]to make something stay in a particular position
hold something open/up etc
▪ We used rolled-up newspapers to hold the windows open.
▪ Remember to hold your head up and keep your back straight.
hold something in place/position
▪ A couple of screws should hold it in place.
▪ Lift your head off the floor and hold this position for five seconds.
4. JOB/TITLE [TRANSITIVE]
a) to have a particular job or position, especially an important one:
▪ Do you really think he’s capable of holding such a responsible position?
hold the post/position/office etc (of something)
▪ She was the first woman to hold the office of Australian state premier.
▪ The governor had held the post since 1989.
▪ Whoever is elected will hold office (=have an important political position) for four years.
b) to have a particular title or record, because you have won a competition, are the best at something etc:
▪ The programme still holds the record for the longest running TV series.
▪ The last Briton to hold the title was Bert Nicholson.
5. KEEP/STORE [TRANSITIVE]to keep something to be used when it is needed:
▪ Further copies of the book are held in the library.
▪ Weapons were held at various sites.
6. KEEP SOMETHING AVAILABLE FOR SOMEBODY [TRANSITIVE]to agree not to give something such as a ticket, a place at a restaurant, a job etc to anyone except a particular person:
▪ We can hold the reservation for you until next Friday.
hold something open
▪ You can’t expect them to hold the job open for much longer – you’ll have to decide whether you want it or not.
7. KEEP SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE [TRANSITIVE]to keep someone somewhere, and not allow them to leave:
▪ Police are holding two men in connection with the robbery.
hold somebody prisoner/hostage/captive
▪ A senior army officer was held hostage for four months.
hold somebody incommunicado (=keep someone somewhere and not allow them to communicate with anyone)
8. OPINION [TRANSITIVE NOT IN PROGRESSIVE]to have a particular opinion or belief:
▪ Experts hold varying opinions as to the causes of the disease.
be widely/generally/commonly held (=be the opinion of a lot of people)
▪ This view is not widely held.
be held to be something
▪ She was held to be one of the most talented actors of her time.
hold that
▪ The judge held that the child’s interests in this case must come first.
9. hold somebody responsible/accountable/liable (for something)
to say or decide that someone should accept the responsibility for something bad that happens:
▪ If anything happens to her, I’ll hold you personally responsible.
▪ He may have had a terrible childhood, but he should still be held accountable for his own actions.
10. OWN SOMETHING [TRANSITIVE]to officially own or possess money, a document, a company etc:
▪ He holds shares in ICI.
▪ Do you hold a valid passport?
▪ a privately held company
11. CONTAIN A PARTICULAR AMOUNT [TRANSITIVE NOT IN PROGRESSIVE]to have the space to contain a particular amount of something:
▪ The movie theater holds 500 people.
▪ The tank should hold enough to last us a few days.
12. SUPPORT [INTRANSITIVE AND TRANSITIVE]to be strong enough to support the weight of something or someone:
▪ Careful! I’m not sure that branch will hold you.
▪ The bridge didn’t look as though it would hold.
13. STAY AT SAME LEVEL [INTRANSITIVE AND TRANSITIVE]to stay at a particular amount, level, or rate, or to make something do this:
▪ The bank is holding interest rates at 4%.
▪ Since then, the pound has held steady against the dollar.
hold sb’s interest/attention (=make someone stay interested)
▪ Colourful pictures help hold the students’ interest.
14. NOT CHANGE [INTRANSITIVE]to continue to be true, good, available etc:
▪ What I said yesterday holds.
▪ Does your invitation still hold?
hold true/good
▪ Twenty years on, his advice still holds good.
weather/luck holds (out) (=continues to be good)
▪ If our luck holds, we could reach the final.
15. STOP/DELAY [TRANSITIVE] spoken used in particular phrases to tell someone to wait or not to do something:
▪ I’ll have a tuna fish sandwich please – and hold the mayo (=do not give me any).
hold it!
▪ Hold it! We’re not quite ready.
hold your horses! (=used to tell someone to do something more slowly or carefully)
16. hold your head up
(also hold your head high) to behave as if you are proud of yourself or respect yourself:
▪ They may have lost the game, but I still think they’ve earned the right to hold their heads high today.
17. hold your breath
a) to deliberately not breathe out for a short time:
▪ Hold your breath and count to ten.
b) to not breathe out and try not to make a sound because you do not want to be noticed:
▪ Julie shrank back against the wall and held her breath.
c) not hold your breath spoken used to say that you do not expect something to happen, even though someone has said it will:
▪ He promised he’d phone, but I’m not holding my breath.
18. hold (your) fire
a) to not shoot at someone when you were going to
b) to not criticize, attack, or oppose someone when you were going to:
▪ The President urged his party to hold fire on the issue a few days longer.
19. TELEPHONE [INTRANSITIVE](also hold the line) spoken to wait until the person you have telephoned is ready to answer:
▪ Mr Stevens is busy at the moment – would you like to hold?
▪ Please hold the line while I transfer you.
20. ARMY [TRANSITIVE]if an army holds a place, it controls it or defends it from attack:
▪ The French army held the town for three days.
21. MUSICAL NOTE [TRANSITIVE]to make a musical note continue for a particular length of time
22. FUTURE [TRANSITIVE] formal if the future holds something, that is what may happen:
▪ Thousands of workers are waiting to see what the future holds.
23. HAVE A QUALITY [TRANSITIVE] formal to have a particular quality
hold (little) interest/appeal/promise etc
▪ Many church services hold little appeal for modern tastes.
24. hold your own (against somebody)
to successfully defend yourself or succeed in a difficult situation, competition etc:
▪ He was a good enough player to hold his own against the Americans.
25. not hold a candle to somebody/something
to be much worse than someone or something else
26. be left holding the baby
British English, be left holding the bag American English to be left as the only person responsible for dealing with a difficult situation, especially something someone else started:
▪ He was left holding the financial baby when his musical partner joined another band.
27. hold sway
to have a lot of influence or power:
▪ Among people here, traditional values still hold sway.
28. hold court
to get the attention of everyone while you are talking, especially when you are trying to entertain people:
▪ Joey would walk into the bar and hold court all night.
29. hold your tongue
spoken used to tell someone to stop talking or to not tell someone about something:
▪ I reckon you’ve just got to learn to hold your tongue.
30. hold all the cards
to have all the advantages in a situation in which people are competing or arguing:
▪ ‘There’s not much we can do. They seem to hold all the cards,’ said Dan gloomily.
31. hold fast (to something)
to keep believing strongly in something
32. hold a conversation
to have a conversation
33. hold the fort
to be responsible for something while the person usually responsible for it is not there:
▪ She’s holding the fort while the manager’s on holiday.
34. hold the lead/advantage
to be winning in a competition, game etc:
▪ Celtic held the lead in the first half.
35. there’s no holding somebody (back)
spoken used to say that someone is so determined to do something that you cannot prevent them from doing it
36. can hold your drink/liquor/alcohol etc
to be able to drink a lot of alcohol without getting drunk or ill
37. not hold water
if an excuse, a statement etc does not hold water, it does not seem to be true or reasonable
38. hold something/somebody dear
formal to care about something or someone a lot:
▪ We were facing the loss of everything we held dear.
39. hold the road
if a car holds the road well, you can drive it quickly around bends without losing control
⇨ hold a course at course1(8)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪hold to have something in your hand, hands, or arms :
▪ Maria came in holding a letter.
▪ Can I hold the baby?
▪grip to hold something very tightly and not let it go :
▪ He gripped her arm so she couldn’t walk away.
▪ Jenny gripped the side of the boat to steady herself.
▪clutch to hold something tightly, especially because you do not want to drop or lose it :
▪ A businessman hurried past, clutching his briefcase.
▪ The little girl clutched onto his hand.
▪clasp written to hold someone or something tightly, closing your fingers or arms around them :
▪ She was clasping a bunch of small summer flowers.
▪ He clasped her in his arms and kissed her.
▪get/take hold of something to take something in your hand or hands and hold it :
▪ I took hold of the handle and pulled as hard as I could.
▪ Quickly – try and get hold of that frog!
▪grasp written to take hold of something firmly, especially in a determined way :
▪ She grasped the lowest branch and pulled herself up into the tree.
▪grab to take hold of something suddenly and often violently :
▪ He grabbed my bag and ran off with it.
▪ The other man grabbed hold of (=suddenly took hold of ) my arms and threatened me with a knife.
▪seize /siːz/ written to take hold of something suddenly and often violently :
▪ A police officer ran after him and seized the gun.
▪hang on (to something) to hold on to something or someone tightly to support yourself :
▪ He hung on to the rail at the back of the motorbike.
▪ Hang on tight!
▪keep hold of something to continue to hold something :
▪ Greg was struggling to keep hold of the dog.
▪ She tried to take her hand away but he kept hold of it.
hold something against somebody phrasal verb
to continue to dislike someone or not forgive them because of something bad they have done in the past:
▪ You can’t still hold that against him, surely?
hold back phrasal verb
1. hold somebody/something ↔ back
to make someone or something stop moving forward:
▪ Police in riot gear held back the demonstrators.
2. hold something ↔ back
to stop yourself from feeling or showing a particular emotion:
▪ She struggled to hold back her tears.
▪ Anger flooded through her. She couldn’t hold it back.
3. hold somebody/something ↔ back
to prevent someone or something from making progress:
▪ They felt the British economy was being held back by excessive government controls.
4. hold (somebody) back
to be unwilling to do something, especially because you are being careful, or to make someone unwilling to do something:
▪ In the current situation many investors are holding back.
▪ She wanted to tell him but pride held her back.
5. hold something ↔ back
to keep something secret:
▪ Tell me all about it – don’t hold anything back!
hold somebody/something ↔ down phrasal verb
1. to make someone or something stay on something, and stop them from moving away or escaping:
▪ We had to hold the tent down with rocks to stop it blowing away.
▪ It took three strong men to hold him down.
2. to prevent the level of something such as prices from rising:
▪ We will aim to hold down prices.
3. hold down a job
to succeed in keeping a job for a period of time:
▪ He’s never held down a job for longer than a few weeks.
4. to keep people under control or limit their freedom:
▪ The people were held down for centuries by their conquerors.
hold forth phrasal verb
to give your opinion on a subject, especially for a long time
hold forth on
▪ The speaker was holding forth on the collapse of modern society.
hold off phrasal verb
1. to delay doing something:
▪ Buyers have been holding off until the price falls.
hold off (on) doing something
▪ Hold off making your decision until Monday.
2. hold somebody ↔ off
a) to prevent someone who is trying to attack or defeat you from succeeding:
▪ Not even a gun could hold him off forever.
b) to prevent someone from coming towards you or succeeding in speaking to you:
▪ There’s already a crowd of reporters outside – I’ll try to hold them off for a while.
3. if rain or bad weather holds off, it does not start, although it looked as if it would:
▪ The rain held off until after the game.
hold on phrasal verb
1. spoken
a) to wait for a short time:
▪ Hold on, I’ll just get my coat.
b) used when you have just noticed, heard, or remembered something interesting or wrong:
▪ Hold on a minute! Isn’t that your brother’s car over there?
c) used to ask someone on the telephone to wait until the person they want to talk to is available:
▪ Can you hold on? I’ll try to find her.
2. to have your hands or arms tightly around something:
▪ Hold on tight!
hold on to
▪ Hold on to my arm.
3. to continue doing something that is very difficult to do:
▪ San Francisco held on to win 4–2.
hold on to somebody/something phrasal verb
to keep something rather than losing it, selling it, or giving it to someone else:
▪ The soldiers held on to the bridge for three more days.
▪ I think I’ll hold on to these old records for now.
hold out phrasal verb
1. hold out something
to think or say that something is possible or likely to happen, especially something good
not hold out much hope/hold out little hope
▪ Negotiators aren’t holding out much hope of a peaceful settlement.
hold out the prospect/promise of something
▪ alternative methods which hold out the promise of improved health
2. if a supply of something holds out, there is still some left:
▪ Water supplies won’t hold out much longer.
3. to continue to successfully defend a place that is being attacked:
▪ The rebels held out for another night but then fresh forces arrived.
4. to try to prevent yourself from doing something that someone is trying to force you to do
hold out against
▪ I didn’t know how much longer I could hold out against their relentless questioning.
hold out for something phrasal verb
to not accept anything less than you have asked for:
▪ Transport workers are holding out for a 20% pay rise.
hold out on somebody phrasal verb informal
to not tell someone about something important:
▪ She must have been holding out on him all these years.
hold something over phrasal verb
1. [USUALLY PASSIVE]
formal to do or deal with something at a later time:
▪ The matter was held over for further review. ⇨ holdover
2. hold something over somebody
to use something bad that you know about someone to make them do what you want:
▪ He knows I’ve been in prison and is holding it over me.
3. be held over
especially American English if a play, film, concert etc is held over, it is shown for longer than planned because it is very popular
hold to something phrasal verb
1. if you hold to a belief, principle, promise etc, you believe it or behave according to it:
▪ He admitted he did not hold to the traditional view of God.
2. hold somebody to something
to make someone do what they have promised:
▪ ‘I’ll ask him tomorrow.’ ‘OK, but I’m going to hold you to that.’
3. hold somebody to something
British English to prevent your opponent in a sports game from getting more than a particular number of points:
▪ Norway held Holland to a 2–2 draw.
hold together phrasal verb
1. if a group or an organization holds together, or if something holds it together, it stays strong and does not separate into different parts or groups:
▪ Against all expectations, the coalition held together well.
hold something ↔ together
▪ In those days the Church held the community together.
2. to remain whole and good enough to use, or to make something do this:
▪ Incredibly, the raft held together till we reached the opposite shore.
hold something ↔ together
▪ I wondered how the structure was held together.
hold up phrasal verb
1. hold something ↔ up
to support something and prevent it from falling down:
▪ The roof is held up by massive stone pillars.
2. hold somebody/something ↔ up
[USUALLY PASSIVE]to delay someone or something:
▪ Sorry I’m late – I was held up at work.
3. hold up something
to rob or try to rob a place or person by using violence:
▪ Two armed men held up a downtown liquor store last night. ⇨ hold-up
4. to not become weaker:
▪ His physical condition has held up well.
hold somebody/something up as something phrasal verb
to use someone or something as a good example or as proof of something:
▪ The school is held up as a model for others.
▪ This incident will be held up as proof that tougher controls are needed.
hold with something phrasal verb
not hold with something British English used to say that someone does not approve of something:
▪ He says he doesn’t hold with all this politically correct stuff.
not hold with doing something
▪ I don’t hold with hitting children in any circumstances.
II. hold2 S2 W3 noun
[Word Family: noun: hold, holder, holding; verb: hold]
Sense 1-9, 11: Origin : ⇨ hold1]
Sense 10: Origin : hole]
1. HOLDING SOMETHING [SINGULAR]the action of holding something with your hands SYN grip
hold on
▪ She released her tight hold on the dog.
▪ He tightened his hold, refusing to let her go.
▪ Make sure you keep hold of my hand when we cross the road.
▪ I took hold of her hand and gently led her away.
▪ Grab hold of the rope and pull yourself up.
2. get hold of something
(also get a hold of something American English) to find or borrow something so that you can use it:
▪ I need to get hold of a car.
▪ She managed to get a hold of a copy.
3. get hold of somebody
(also get a hold of somebody American English) to find and speak to someone about something:
▪ I must get hold of Vanessa to see if she can babysit.
4. CONTROL/POWER [SINGULAR]control, power, or influence over something or someone
get/keep a hold on/of something
▪ He struggled to get a hold of his emotions.
▪ I’ve always kept a tight hold on our finances.
▪ I realized that the woman had a hold over my father.
5. on hold
a) if something is on hold, it is going to be done or dealt with at a later date rather than now:
▪ The plans are on hold until after the election.
▪ Since having the kids, my career has been put on hold.
b) if you are on hold, you are waiting to talk to someone on the telephone:
▪ We try not to keep people on hold for more than a couple of minutes.
▪ The agent put me on hold while she consulted a colleague.
6. take (a) hold
to start to have a definite effect:
▪ The fever was beginning to take hold.
7. get hold of an idea/an impression/a story etc
to learn or begin to believe something:
▪ Where on earth did you get hold of that idea?
8. FIGHT [COUNTABLE]a particular position that you hold an opponent in, in a fight or a sport such as wrestling
9. CLIMBING [COUNTABLE]somewhere you can put your hands or feet to help you climb something:
▪ The cliff was steep and it was difficult to find a hold.
10. SHIP [COUNTABLE]the part of a ship below the deck1(1) where goods are stored
11. no holds barred
when there are no rules or limits on what you are allowed to do:
▪ It seems there are no holds barred when it comes to making a profit.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
adjectives
▪a tight/firm hold
▪ Rose had a tight hold of her hand.
verbs
▪tighten your hold
▪ Maria winced as Luke tightened his hold on her fingers.
▪loosen/relax your hold
▪ Laughing, he loosened his hold until she could pull her arms free.
▪release your hold (=stop holding something)
▪ As soon as his fingers released their hold, Robyn turned and ran.
phrases
▪keep hold of something (=hold something without letting go)
▪ I had to run to keep hold of the leather strap.
▪get/take hold of something (=start holding something)
▪ Wallace took hold of Fred’s jacket and pulled him roughly backwards.
▪catch/grab/seize etc hold of something (=start holding something quickly and firmly)
▪ She grabbed hold of the letter and tore it open.
▪have hold of something (=be holding something)
▪ Nathan had hold of her hand again.
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