Adjacent Words

hold up definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: 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: hold, support, sustain, hold up]
2: hold up something as an example; hold up one's achievements for admiration
3: cause to be slowed down or delayed; "Traffic was delayed by the bad weather"; "she delayed the work that she didn't want to perform" [syn: delay, detain, hold up] [ant: hurry, rush]
4: rob at gunpoint or by means of some other threat [syn: hold up, stick up]
5: continue to live through hardship or adversity; "We went without water and food for 3 days"; "These superstitions survive in the backwaters of America"; "The race car driver lived through several very serious accidents"; "how long can a person last without food and water?" [syn: survive, last, live, live on, go, endure, hold up, hold out]
6: 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, hold up]
7: resist or withstand wear, criticism, etc.; "Her shoes won't hold up"; "This theory won't hold water" [syn: stand up, hold up, hold water]

Merriam Webster's

verb Date: 1851 transitive verb 1. to rob at gunpoint 2. delay, impede 3. to call attention to ; single out <his work was held up to ridicule> <hold this up as perfection — Times Literary Supplement> intransitive verb to continue in the same condition without failing or losing effectiveness or force <she's holding up under the strain> <music that holds up twenty years later>

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you hold up your hand or something you have in your hand, you move it upwards into a particular position and keep it there. She held up her hand stiffly... Hold it up so that we can see it. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P 2. If one thing holds up another, it is placed under the other thing in order to support it and prevent it from falling. Mills have iron pillars all over the place holding up the roof... Her legs wouldn't hold her up. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P 3. To hold up a person or process means to make them late or delay them. Why were you holding everyone up?... Continuing violence could hold up progress towards reform. = delay PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron) 4. If someone holds up a place such as a bank or a shop, they point a weapon at someone there to make them give them money or valuable goods. A thief ran off with hundreds of pounds yesterday after holding up a petrol station. = rob PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P 5. If you hold up something such as someone's behaviour, you make it known to other people, so that they can criticize or praise it. He had always been held up as an example to the younger ones. PHRASAL VERB: be V-ed P as n, also V n P as n 6. If something such as a type of business holds up in difficult conditions, it stays in a reasonably good state. Children's wear is one area that is holding up well in the recession. PHRASAL VERB: V P 7. If an argument or theory holds up, it is true or valid, even after close examination. I'm not sure if the argument holds up, but it's stimulating. = stand up PHRASAL VERB 8. see also hold-up

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

1. Clear up, cease raining. 2. Keep up, bear up, endure, support one's self, keep one's courage.

Moby Thesaurus

adjourn, advertise, afford support, air, arrest, back, back up, backpedal, backwater, be consistent, be proof against, be the case, be true, be truthful, be unflappable, bear, bear out, bear up, bear up against, blazon forth, bleed, bleed white, block, bolster, bolster up, boost, bottle up, brace, brake, brandish, bridle, buoy, buoy up, buttress, carry, cast up, check, clip, clip the wings, come up fighting, commit robbery, confine, conform to fact, constrain, contain, continue, control, cool, cool off, countercheck, cradle, crutch, curb, curtail, cushion, dam up, damp, dampen, dangle, decelerate, defer, defy, delay, demonstrate, detain, display, dompt, drag, drag out, draw rein, ease off, ease up, elevate, emblazon, endure, enjoin, erect, escalate, exhibit, exploit, extend, finance, flash, flaunt, fleece, float, float high, flourish, fund, get by, get home free, give support, gouge, govern, guard, hack it, hang fire, hang in, hang in there, hang on, hang tough, hang up, heave, heft, heighten, heist, hijack, hike, hinder, hoick, hoist, hold, hold at bay, hold back, hold fast, hold good, hold in, hold in check, hold in leash, hold off, hold on, hold out, hold over, hold together, hold true, hold water, impede, inhibit, intercept, interfere, intermeddle, interrupt, intervene, jerk up, keep, keep afloat, keep back, keep from, keep in, keep in check, keep under control, keep up, knock over, knock up, lag, lay aside, lay by, lay over, lay under restraint, lend support, let down, let up, levitate, lift, lift up, live through it, live with it, lob, loft, lose ground, lose momentum, lose speed, mainstay, maintain, make late, manifest, meddle, meet requirements, moderate, mug, never say die, not budge, not flag, not give up, not weaken, obstruct, oppose, overcharge, overprice, overtax, parade, pass, pass muster, perk up, pigeonhole, pillow, postpone, profiteer, prohibit, prolong, prop, prop up, prorogate, prorogue, protract, prove out, prove to be, prove true, pull, pull in, push aside, put aside, put forth, put forward, put off, put on ice, raise, raise up, rear, rear up, rebuff, recess, reef, rein, rein in, reinforce, relax, remain firm, remain valid, remit, repel, repress, repulse, reserve, resist, restrain, retard, retrench, ride high, ride it out, rip off, rise, rob, scotch, screw, see it out, set aside, set back, set by, set up, shelve, shift off, shore, shore up, shoulder, skin, sky, slack off, slack up, slacken, sleep on, slow, slow down, slow up, snub, soak, sport, stand, stand fast, stand firm, stand over, stand pat, stand the test, stand up, stave off, stay, stay it out, stay put, stay the distance, stay with it, stick, stick it, stick it out, stick out, stick to it, stick together, stick up, stick with it, sting, stop, straiten, stretch out, subsidize, subvention, subventionize, support, suppress, surcharge, suspend, sustain, sweat it out, swindle, table, take a recess, take in sail, take it, throttle down, throw up, tough it out, trumpet, trumpet forth, underbrace, undergird, underlie, underpin, underset, up, upbear, upbuoy, upcast, upheave, uphoist, uphold, upkeep, uplift, upraise, uprear, upthrow, vaunt, victimize, waft, waive, wash, wave, weather, weather the storm, withhold, withstand