HOLD OUT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does hold out mean? 

• HOLD OUT (verb)
  The verb HOLD OUT has 5 senses:

1. thrust or extend out

2. stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something

3. last and be usable

4. wait uncompromisingly for something desirable

5. continue to live and avoid dying

  Familiarity information: HOLD OUT used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HOLD OUT (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Thrust or extend out

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

exsert; extend; hold out; put out; stretch forth; stretch out

Context example:

the bee exserted its sting

Hypernyms (to "hold out" is one way to...):

gesticulate; gesture; motion (show, express or direct through movement)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hold out"):

hyperextend (extend a joint beyond its normal range)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

hold out; resist; stand firm; withstand

Hypernyms (to "hold out" is one way to...):

defend; fight; fight back; fight down; oppose (fight against or resist strongly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hold out"):

stand out (be stubborn in resolution or resistance)

stand up (refuse to back down; remain solid under criticism or attack)

outbrave (resist bravely)

hold off (resist and fight to a standoff)

remain firm; stand (hold one's ground; maintain a position; be steadfast or upright)

defy; hold; hold up; withstand (resist or confront with resistance)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

holdout (a refusal by a negotiator to come to terms in the hope of obtaining a better deal)

holdout (a negotiator who hopes to gain concessions by refusing to come to terms)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Last and be usable

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

endure; hold out; wear

Context example:

This dress wore well for almost ten years

Hypernyms (to "hold out" is one way to...):

endure; last (persist for a specified period of time)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s Adjective/Noun
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

The sheets didn't hold out

Sense 4

Meaning:

Wait uncompromisingly for something desirable

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

He held out for the dessert and did not touch the cheeses

Hypernyms (to "hold out" is one way to...):

hold back; hold off; wait (wait before acting)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

They hold out a long time

Derivation:

holdout (a refusal by a negotiator to come to terms in the hope of obtaining a better deal)

holdout (a negotiator who hopes to gain concessions by refusing to come to terms)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Continue to live and avoid dying

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

endure; go; hold out; hold up; last; live; live on; survive

Context example:

One crash victim died, the other lived

"Hold out" entails doing...:

be; live (have life, be alive)

Verb group:

be; live (have life, be alive)

exist; live; subsist; survive (support oneself)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hold out"):

hold up; hold water; stand up (resist or withstand wear, criticism, etc.)

perennate (survive from season to season, of plants)

live out (live out one's life; live to the end)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

The business is going to hold out

 Context examples 

“And yet there are singular points about it which hold out some hopes for our client.”

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Sun-like stars hold out the best hope of finding planets beyond the solar system that host life.

(Potentially Habitable 'Super-Earths' Found Orbiting around Sun's near Neighbor, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Hola, mes enfants! how long will you hold out?

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Miss March, hold out your hand.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“He’s quicker at climbing down holes than I am. Just hold out while I fix the derbies.”

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Timid, anxious, doubting as she was, it was still impossible that such tenderness as hers should not, at times, hold out the strongest hope of success, though it remained for a later period to tell him the whole delightful and astonishing truth.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

When the fox felt the first string, he started so that he lifted one leg, from pain, but he bore it, and still kept his tail high in the air; at the second sting, he was forced to put it down for a moment; at the third, he could hold out no longer, screamed, and put his tail between his legs.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

When they parted, Lady Catherine, with great condescension, wished them a good journey, and invited them to come to Hunsford again next year; and Miss de Bourgh exerted herself so far as to curtsey and hold out her hand to both.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

I gave her a shilling: she put it into an old stocking-foot which she took out of her pocket, and having tied it round and returned it, she told me to hold out my hand.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"Shut your eyes and hold out your arms," she said invitingly.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)