Phrasal verbs with hold: Common meanings, example sentences and how to use them correctly

A phrasal verb with hold combines hold with a particle such as on, off, back, up or out, and the new phrase often describes more than gripping something in your hands. Hold on can mean to wait or to grip tightly, hold up can mean to delay, to rob or to support, and hold back can mean to stop yourself from showing a feeling. Because several of these verbs have multiple meanings, learners need to study each one with an example.

This article explains the common phrasal verbs with hold, their meanings and example sentences, the word order rules for objects, the difference between similar verbs such as hold off and hold back, and typical mistakes, followed by exercises with answers.

What phrasal verb with hold are and how the particle changes the meaning

The basic meaning of hold when it is used on its own

On its own, hold means to keep something in your hands, arms or grip (She held the baby), to keep something in a position (Hold your arm straight), or to contain or organize something (The hall holds five hundred people. They held a meeting).

How a phrasal verb with hold is formed

A phrasal verb with hold is made of hold plus a particle, and the particle changes the meaning.

Examples: hold + on = wait or grip tightly. hold + off = delay. hold + back = restrain.

The forms of hold: Held as the past tense and participle

Hold is an irregular verb: hold, held, held. The simple past and the past participle are the same.

Examples: The rain held off. The meeting was held up. Do not write “holded.”

Common phrasal verb with hold: A quick reference table

Hold on: Waiting, gripping and persisting

Hold on meaning to wait for a short time

Hold on is a common way to ask someone to wait, in everyday speech and on the phone.

Examples: Hold on, I’ll get a pen. Could you hold on a moment while I check?

Hold on and hold on to meaning to grip

Hold on to means to keep your grip on something. The thing you hold follows to.

Examples: Hold on to the rail when the bus moves. She held on to the rope. Some writers use hold onto and held onto in the same meaning.

Hold on to meaning to keep something

Examples: He held on to his old phone for years. You should hold on to your receipt.

Hold on meaning to survive or persist

Example: The hikers held on until the rescue team arrived.

Hold off and hold back: Delaying and restraining

Hold off meaning to delay or postpone an action

Hold off means to wait before doing something. It is often followed by an -ing form or by on.

Examples: We decided to hold off buying a house. They held off on the announcement.

Hold off meaning to keep away

Examples: The defenders held off the attack. The rain held off until the match ended.

Hold back meaning to restrain or prevent

Examples: The barrier held back the water. Fear held her back.

Hold back meaning to control an emotion

Examples: He couldn’t hold back his tears. She held back a laugh.

Hold back meaning to withhold or hesitate

Examples: The company held back some information. Don’t hold back; tell me what you really think.

Hold up: Delaying, robbing and supporting

Hold up meaning to delay people, traffic or work

Examples: Roadworks held up the traffic. Sorry to hold you up.

Hold up meaning to rob a person or a place

Examples: Two men held up a bank. The shop was held up at gunpoint. The noun form is written hold-up: There was a hold-up on the motorway. The same noun can mean a delay or a robbery.

Hold up meaning to support or remain valid

Examples: Strong beams hold up the roof. Her argument does not hold up under close examination.

Hold up meaning to raise something above your head

Example: Please hold up your hand if you know the answer.

Hold up as an informal call to wait

In informal American English, Hold up! can mean “wait” or “stop”: Hold up, I forgot my keys.

Hold out, hold down and hold together: Offering, keeping and staying united

Hold out: Offering, lasting or waiting for something better

Hold out has three common meanings: to offer something with your hand, to last or resist, and to wait for something better with for.

Examples: She held out her hand to greet him. Their supplies held out for a week. He held out for a better offer.

Hold down: Keeping a job, a position or a level low

Hold down means to keep a job, to keep something in position, or to keep a level low.

Examples: She holds down two jobs. He held down the paper with a stone. The government is trying to hold down prices.

Hold together: Staying united or staying in one piece

Hold together means to stay united or to stay in one piece, and with an object, to keep things united.

Examples: The old chair barely holds together. The leader held the team together.

Hold over, hold forth, hold out on and hold to: Less common phrasal verbs with hold

Hold over: Postponing something to a later time

Hold over means to postpone something to a later time: The vote was held over until Monday.

Hold forth: Talking at length without an object

Hold forth means to talk at length, often in a way that the listener finds long: He held forth about his travels for an hour. It has no object.

Hold out on: Keeping information from another person

Hold out on is informal and means to keep information from someone: Don’t hold out on me; what happened?

Hold someone to something: Insisting that a promise is kept

Hold someone to means to insist that a person does what they promised: I’ll hold you to your promise.

Separable and inseparable phrasal verbs with hold: Where the object goes

The pronoun rule for separable verbs

When the object is a pronoun such as it, them or her, it must go between hold and the particle.

Examples: She held it back. (not “She held back it.”) They held them up. We cannot hold it down.

Common mistakes with phrasal verb with hold and how to fix them

• Putting a pronoun after the particle. Writing She held back it instead of She held it back.
• Leaving out to after hold on. Writing He held on the rope instead of He held on to the rope.
• Using the wrong past form. Writing The weather holded off instead of The weather held off.
• Confusing hold up with hold down for a job. Writing She holds up a good job instead of She holds down a good job.
• Choosing hold on when you mean hold off. Writing We will hold on buying the house instead of We will hold off buying the house.
• Mixing the two meanings of hold up. Without context, The bank was held up can mean robbed or delayed, so add a clue such as at gunpoint or by roadworks.

Exercises with phrasal verb with hold and answers

Exercise 1: Complete each sentence with the correct phrasal verb with hold

Use: hold on, hold off, hold back, hold up, hold out, hold down, hold on to. Change the form where necessary.

1. Could you ______ a moment? I need to find my keys.
2. The accident ______ traffic for an hour.
3. She tried to ______ her tears.
4. We should ______ buying a car until prices fall.
5. Please ______ the rail when the bus moves.
6. He has ______ the same job for ten years.
7. The villagers ______ for weeks until help arrived.

Sample answers: 1. hold on – 2. held up – 3. hold back – 4. hold off – 5. hold on to – 6. held down – 7. held out

Exercise 2: Choose the meaning of each underlined phrasal verb

1. The bank was held up by two men. (delayed / robbed)
2. The evidence does not hold up. (is delayed / does not stay convincing)
3. Hold on! I’m coming. (wait / rob)

Sample answers: 1. robbed – 2. does not stay convincing – 3. wait

Exercise 3: Find and correct the error in each sentence

1. She held back it. → correct to She held it back.
2. He held on the rope. → correct to He held on to the rope.
3. The weather holded off. → correct to The weather held off.
4. She holds up a good job. → correct to She holds down a good job.
5. We will hold on buying the house until next year. → correct to We will hold off buying the house until next year.

Tips for learning phrasal verb with hold

• Learn the multiple meanings together. Study the three meanings of hold up side by side, and note the context clues that show which one is used.
• Group verbs by idea. Put hold off, hold over and hold back together as verbs about delaying or stopping.
• Practice the irregular form. Say hold, held, held until it feels natural.
• Learn the object rule at the same time. Practice saying hold it back and hold them up.
• Write your own examples. A sentence from your own life is easier to recall than a definition.

A phrasal verb with hold can describe waiting, gripping, delaying, restraining, robbing, supporting, offering and keeping a job. The particle decides the meaning, so learn each phrase with an example and remember the irregular past form held. Place pronouns between hold and the particle for separable verbs, and use context to decide which meaning of verbs such as hold up is intended.

See also: Modal Verb: Rules, Uses, Examples and Exercises

Frequently asked questions about phrasal verb with hold

What does hold on mean in everyday English?

Hold on usually means to wait, as in “Hold on a moment.” It can also mean to grip tightly, as in “Hold on to the rail,” and to survive, as in “They held on until help arrived.”

What is the difference between hold off and hold back?

Hold off means to delay or to keep something away, as in “We decided to hold off buying a car.” Hold back means to restrain something or to control an emotion, as in “She held back her tears.”

What does hold up mean in different situations?

Hold up can mean to delay something, to rob a place using force, or to support something or remain valid. The meaning depends on context, so look at the other words in the sentence.

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