hold /; AmE / verb, noun

■ verb (held, held //)

1 [+ obj]

to have or own sth:

The government holds a 55% stake in the firm.

a privately/publicly held company

Most of our funds are held in cash.

She holds a degree in business economics.

2 [+ obj]

to organize and have a meeting, a discussion, an event, etc:

The board will hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the proposals.

3 [+ obj]

to have a particular job or position, especially an important or official one:

He holds the post of director of communications.

Few women hold top executive jobs.

4 [+ obj]

to have enough space for sth/sb; to contain sth/sb:

This barrel holds 25 litres.

How many passengers does the plane hold?

5 [+ obj]

to keep a price, cost, etc. at a particular level:

The central bank has decided to hold interest rates at 4.0 per cent.

6 [+ obj or no obj]

to remain the same:

How long can these prices hold?

These stocks tend to hold their value.

7 [+ obj]

to keep sth so that it can be used later:

records held on computer

We can hold your reservation for three days.

stocks of finished goods held by manufacturers

Some investors hold their investments for many years.

8 [+ obj or no obj]

to wait until you can speak to the person you have telephoned:

That extension is busy right now. Can you hold?

Could you hold the line while I page Mr Philips?

9 (Law ) [+ obj or no obj]

to make a judgement about sb/sth in a court:

The judge held (that) she had been negligent.

The magistrate held in favour of the claimant.

He was held in contempt of court.

⇨ FIND (2)

IDIOMS

be in a holding pattern

to be in a situation where there is not much change or activity:

The market will be in a holding pattern until after the holiday.

hold sb's hand

to give sb a lot of support and help (often used in a disapproving way):

A qualified employee shouldn't need anyone to hold their hand.

HAND-HOLDING

hold the floor

to speak during a formal discussion, especially for a long time so that nobody else is able to say anything

hold your own (against sb/sth) (in sth)

to remain in a strong position when sb is attacking you, competing with you, etc:

The company holds its own against larger competitors by maintaining the high quality of its products.

hold the purse strings

to be in control of how money is spent:

Power and influence lies with the person who holds the purse strings.

CHECK noun, GROUND noun

PHRASAL VERBS

hold sb/sth back

to limit or slow down the progress of sb/sth:

High interest rates are holding back growth.

Our performance was held back by falling sales of PCs.

hold back on sth

to delay doing sth:

Troubled manufacturers continue to hold back on hiring.

hold sth down

1

to keep sth at a low level:

The rate of inflation must be held down.

holding down costs

2

to keep a job for some time:

He finds it difficult to hold down a job.

hold off

to not do sth immediately:

We held off buying a new computer system until prices went down.

Could you hold off making your decision for a few days?

hold on (informal)

used on the telephone to ask sb to wait until they can talk to the person they want:

Can you hold on? I'll see if he's here.

hold on to sth/sb; hold onto sth/sb

to keep sth/sb that is valuable or that provides an advantage; to not give or sell sth to sb else:

You should hold on to your oil shares.

the difficulty of holding on to skilled employees

The dollar managed to hold onto last week's gains.

hold out for sth

to cause a delay in reaching an agreement because you hope you will gain sth:

The union is holding out for a higher pay offer.

HOLDOUT

hold sth over (usually be held over)

to not deal with sth immediately; to leave sth to be dealt with later:

This matter will be held over until the next meeting.

hold up

to remain strong; to work well:

Sales for the third quarter held up better than expected.

She's holding up well under pressure.

hold sb/sth up

to delay or block the movement or progress of sb/sth:

Differences of opinion over price could hold up a deal.

My application was held up by the postal strike.

HOLD-UP

■ noun

1 [sing.]

influence, power or control over sb/sth:

The merger will allow them to increase their hold on the domestic market.

The management still have a strong hold over the company.

❖ to gain/increase/loosen/lose/maintain/tighten a hold

2 (Stock Exchange ) [U; sing.] = HOLD RATING:

Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock from ‘hold' to ‘sell'.

3 (Transport ) [C]

the part of a ship or plane where the goods being carried are stored:

The goods were loaded into the ship's hold.

IDIOMS

on hold

1

delayed until a later time or date:

The project has been put on hold due to lack of funding.

Our expansion plans are currently on hold.

2

(especially about interest rates) remaining the same:

The committee voted to keep/leave interest rates on hold.

We expect the central bank's policy to stay on hold.

3

if a person on the telephone is put on hold, they have to wait until the person that they want to talk to is free:

Do you mind if I put you on hold?

take hold

to start to have an effect; to become strong:

A new idea about management took hold in boardrooms and business schools.

A recovery in manufacturing will soon take hold.

• passing off
• passing trade
• passive
• passive loss
• passport control
• pass-through
• password
• past due
• paste
• patent
• patentable
• patent agent
• patent defect
• patentee
• patent office
• patent pending
• patent protection
• patent right
• paternalistic
• paternity leave
• paternity pay
• pathfinder
• pathfinder prospectus
• patrimony
• patron