- [singular, uncountable] the action of holding somebody/something; the way you are holding somebody/something synonym grip
- hold on somebody/something His hold on her arm tightened.
- He lost his hold on the rock and was swept away by the tide.
- Make sure you've got a steady hold on the camera.
- She tried to keep hold of the child's hand.
Extra Examples- He kept a firm hold on my hand.
- He tightened his hold on the rope.
- She finally released her hold on me.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- firm
- tight
- catch
- get
- grab
- …
- hold on
- [countable] a particular way of holding somebody, especially in a fight or in a sport such as wrestling
- in a hold He still had me in a tight hold.
- The wrestler put his opponent into a head hold.
- The exercise called for the recruits to get out of various holds.
- [singular] influence, power or control over somebody/something
- He struggled to get a hold of his anger.
- hold over somebody/something What she knew about his past gave her a hold over him.
- hold on somebody/something This crisis had weakened his hold on power.
Extra Examples- an attempt to break the hold of the Church
- The allies lost their hold on the south of the country.
- Her hold on power was now quite tenuous.
- He still has a firm hold on the party.
- He no longer had any hold over her.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- firm
- powerful
- secure
- …
- have
- maintain
- lose
- …
- hold on
- hold over
- [countable] a place where you can put your hands or feet when climbing
- in a hold She put her foot firmly in the hold and pulled herself up.
- [countable] the part of a ship or plane where the goods being carried are storedTopics Transport by waterc1, Transport by airc1
with hand
in sport/a fight
power/control
in climbing
on ship/plane
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 4 Old English haldan, healdan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch houden and German halten; the noun is partly from Old Norse hald ‘hold, support, custody’. noun sense 5 late 16th cent.: from obsolete holl, from Old English hol, holian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hol (noun) ‘cave’, (adjective) ‘hollow’, and German hohl ‘hollow’, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘cover, conceal’. The addition of -d was due to association with hold (all other senses).
Idioms
See hold in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee hold in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishcatch, get, grab, take, etc. (a) hold of somebody/something
- to have or take somebody/something in your hands
- He caught hold of her wrists so she couldn't get away.
- Lee got hold of the dog by its collar.
- Quick, grab a hold of that rope.
- Gently, she took hold of the door handle and turned it.
Extra Examples- Take hold of the handle and give it a hard pull.
- She grabbed hold of a plate and smashed it.
get hold of somebody
- to contact or find somebody
- Where have you been? I've been trying to get hold of you all day.
- Eventually, we got hold of Dan in New York.
- Do you know where I can get hold of a good plumber?
get hold of something
- to find something that you want or need
- I need to get hold of Tom's address.
- It's almost impossible to get hold of tickets for the final.
- The police do not know how the boy got hold of the knife.
- How did the press get hold of the story?
- to learn or understand something
get (hold of) the wrong end of the stick
- (British English, informal) to understand something in the wrong way
no holds barred
- with no rules or limits on what somebody is allowed to do
- There will be no holds barred in his interview with the president this evening.
on hold
- delayed until a later time or date
- She put her career on hold to have a baby.
- The project is on hold until more money is available.
- The department has placed its plans on hold pending the results of the elections.
- if a person on the phone is put on hold, they have to wait until the person they want to talk to becomes free or has found out the information that is needed
- (British English) I’ll just pop you on hold.
take (a) hold
- to begin to have complete control over somebody/something; to become very strong
- Panic took hold of him and he couldn't move.
- They got out of the house just before the flames took hold.
- It is best to treat the disease early before it takes a hold.
Check pronunciation:
hold