What does hold mean

Crossword clues for hold

hold

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

hold

I.verb

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a bag holds sth

▪ I don't think that bag will hold all those books..

a container holds sth

▪ How much liquid will this container hold?

a court rules/orders/holds sth

▪ The court ruled that the penalty was not excessive.

a trial is held

▪ We believe the trial will be held sometime next month.

be held without bail

▪ He was being held without bail pending another hearing.

be held/kept in custody

▪ The men have been held in custody since they were arrested.

be stuck/caught/held up in traffic

▪ Sorry I’m late – I was stuck in traffic.

bear/hold etc no grudge

▪ He insisted that he held no grudge against Taylor.

caught hold of

▪ Miss Perry caught hold of my sleeve and pulled me back.

deeply held

▪ deeply held religious beliefs

funeral...held

▪ The funeral will be held at St. Martin’s Church.

grabbed hold of

▪ Kay grabbed hold of my arm to stop herself falling.

hang on a sec/hold on a sec/just a sec etc (=wait a short time)

▪ ‘Is Al there?’ ‘Hold on a sec, I’ll check.’

have/hold a competition

▪ Each year the school holds a painting competition.

have/hold a contest

▪ My college holds an athletics contest once a year.

have/hold a festival

▪ Tucson had a film festival last month.

have/hold a grudge

▪ The police asked if anyone might have had a grudge against the victim.

have/hold a lease

▪ Who has the lease on the flat?

have/hold a majority

▪ The Democratic party has a majority in the Senate.

have/hold a passport

▪ I have a Canadian passport.

have/hold a reception

▪ The wedding reception will be held at The Grand Hotel.

have/hold a seat

▪ The Liberals now hold 292 seats in Parliament.

have/hold a view (=have an opinion)

▪ He has very left-wing views.

have/hold an election

▪ The government plans to hold an election in November.

have/hold an evening (=organize an event in the evening)

▪ The college is holding an open evening on May 6th for year 9 to 11 pupils.

have/hold an opinion

▪ Everyone seemed to have a different opinion.

▪ He holds strong opinions on these issues.

have/hold dominion over sb/sth

▪ The King held dominion over a vast area.

have/hold talks

▪ He called on the rebels to hold talks with the government.

have/hold/carry a gun

▪ I could see he was carrying a gun.

have/hold/own shares

▪ A lot of the employees own shares in the company.

held a ballot

▪ Workers at the plant held a ballot and rejected strike action.

held accountable

▪ The hospital should be held accountable for the quality of care it gives.

held captive (=kept as a prisoner)

▪ a pilot who was held captive for six years

held hostage to

▪ Our country must not be held hostage to our past.

held in detention

▪ Willis was held in detention for five years.

held in escrow

▪ a property held in escrow

held in great affection (=loved and cared about a lot)

▪ The church was held in great affection by the local residents.

held in store

▪ As we left, I wondered what the future held in store.

held in trust

▪ The money your father left you will be held in trust until you are 21.

held incommunicado

▪ He is reportedly being held incommunicado at a military prison.

held sacred

▪ He had no respect for everything I held sacred.

held up to ridicule (=suffered ridicule)

▪ The government’s proposals were held up to ridicule by opposition ministers.

held...press conference

▪ The Green Party held a press conference the next day.

hold a belief

▪ He held this belief until the day he died.

hold a ceremony

▪ A ceremony was held in Berlin to mark the occasion.

hold a class (=provide a class)

▪ Evening classes are held in the local school.

hold a clinic (=arrange for a clinic to take place)

▪ The hospital holds vaccination clinics once a fortnight.

hold a clue (also yield a clueformal) (= provide one)

▪ The poem itself holds a clue about who it was written for.

hold a conference (=have one)

▪ Their annual conference was held in Chicago.

hold a consultation

▪ Further consultations will be held with local residents.

hold a degreeformal (= have one)

▪ The ideal candidate will hold a degree in physical chemistry.

hold a feast (=arrange for a feast to take place)

▪ The feast was held in the college dining hall.

hold a knife

▪ In his hand, he held a long knife.

hold a licenceBritish English (= have a licence)

▪ Police said that the man did not hold a firearms licence.

hold a meetingformal (= have a meeting)

▪ The meetings are usually held on a Friday.

hold a party

▪ The party was held at his flat.

hold a position (=have it)

▪ She had previously held a senior position in another school.

hold a position (=stay in a position)

▪ Pull in your tummy muscles and hold that position.

hold a post (=have a job)

▪ He had previously held the post of Foreign Minister.

hold a race

▪ The race will be held on February 25th.

hold a rank

▪ From 1 Dec 1914 to 31 Oct 1915 he held the rank of captain.

hold a record (=have it)

▪ Davies holds the record for most points in a season.

hold an execution (=carry one out)

▪ The executions will be held later today.

hold an inquiry

▪ The government has refused to hold an inquiry into the incident.

hold back the tears (=not cry even though you feel like crying)

▪ She gave her version of events, often struggling to hold back the tears.

hold down a job (=keep a job)

▪ He had never been able to hold down a job.

hold hands (with sb)

▪ Joanne and Kevin held hands on the sofa.

hold office (=have a particular important job or position)

▪ Trujillo held office as finance minister.

hold out hope (=say that you think something is likely)

▪ Negotiators did not hold out much hope of a peaceful solution.

hold power (=be in power)

▪ Economic disaster befell the country during the decade when he held power.

hold promise (=seem likely to be good or successful – used of things)

▪ The Internet clearly held great promise as an educational tool.

hold sb in high/great esteem

▪ The critics held him in high esteem as an actor.

hold sb responsible (for sth)

▪ If anything goes wrong, I will hold you personally responsible.

hold sb to their promise (=make them keep it)

▪ The next day, Gareth held me to my promise to take him fishing.

hold sb up as an example (=use someone as a good example of something)

▪ He was held up as an example to the younger athletes.

hold sb/sth in contempt (=have a low opinion of something or someone, and show it)

▪ He was one of those men who hold in contempt those who do not share his point of view.

hold sb/sth in high esteem/regard (=respect them very much)

▪ As an educationalist, he was held in very high esteem.

▪ Romsey earned high praise from his boss.

hold sb/sth in high regard

▪ Doctors are held in high regard by society.

hold sb’s gaze (=keep looking at someone who is looking at you)

▪ He held her gaze for a few seconds, then continued eating.

hold sway

▪ These old attitudes still hold sway in the church.

hold the championship

▪ The championships are being held next Sunday at the San Jose Arena.

Hold the line (=wait on the phone)

▪ Hold the line, please, and I’ll put you through to our sales department.

Hold tight

▪ Hold tight to the handrail!

hold your breath (=not breathe out for a few seconds or minutes)

▪ How long can you hold your breath underwater?

hold your nose (=so that you cannot smell a bad smell)

▪ The smell was so revolting that I had to hold my nose.

hold/bear sth aloft

▪ He emerged, holding a baby aloft.

hold/conduct a service

▪ The service was held in the chapel.

hold/control the purse strings

▪ It all comes down to who holds the purse strings.

hold/draw sb close (=hold someone against your body)

▪ He drew her close to him.

hold...general election (=have a general election)

▪ an attempt to persuade the government to hold a general election

hold/have a stake in sth

▪ He holds a 51% stake in the firm.

hold/have values

▪ People brought up in different times hold different social values.

hold/host a celebrationformal:

▪ The company is holding a celebration for its 75th anniversary.

holding company

holding pattern

▪ My career is in a holding pattern right now.

holding...hostage (=keeping them as hostages)

▪ The group are holding two tourists hostage.

holding...personally responsible

▪ I’m holding you personally responsible for this mess!

hold...inquest

▪ The coroner will hold an inquest into the deaths.

hold...inquest

▪ The Tories will hold a private inquest into why they were defeated.

hold/keep your nerve (=remain calm and confident in a difficult situation)

▪ The team held their nerve and went on to win.

hold/keep (yourself) aloof from sth

▪ The doctor held himself somewhat aloof from the rest of the ship’s crew.

hold/mount/stage an exhibition formal (= have an exhibition)

▪ Hayward Gallery is mounting an impressive exhibition of new British artists.

hold...referendum

▪ The city council agreed to hold a referendum on the issue in November.

hold/remain steady

▪ A recent poll showed his approval rating holding steady at 53 percent.

holds the balance of power (=is able to make either side more powerful than the other by supporting them)

▪ A small centre party holds the balance of power in the Assembly.

holds...spellbound

▪ ‘King Lear’ still holds audiences spellbound.

hold/stage a demonstration (=organize and take part in one)

▪ In April, students began holding demonstrations to demand more freedom.

hold/stage a rally

▪ The students had been refused permission to hold their rally in Victory Square.

hold/stage a sit-in

▪ Several thousand students staged sit-ins and protest marches.

hold/stage an event (=organize a public event)

▪ The charity plans to stage several fund-raising events this year.

hold/stage/mount a protest

▪ Opponents of the plan have staged several protests.

hold/store sth on a computer

▪ This data is all held on a central computer.

hold...summit

▪ The two presidents agreed to hold a summit in the spring.

keep a tight grip/hold/rein on sth (=control it very firmly)

▪ The former dictator still keeps a tight grip on power.

▪ Anna was determined to keep a tight hold on her feelings.

keep/hold onto a seat (also retain a seatformal) (= not lose it in an election)

▪ He is unlikely to retain his seat after next year's election.

▪ Labour managed to hold the seat, but with a reduced majority.

keep/hold yourself aloof (from sb)

▪ She had always kept herself aloof from the boys in class.

kept a tight hold on

▪ His mother kept a tight hold on his hand.

release your grip/hold (on sb/sth)

▪ The sudden noise made him release his hold on her arm.

sb's hand holds sth

▪ His other hand was holding his mobile phone.

sb’s luck holds (=they continue having good luck)

▪ Our luck held, and the weather remained fine.

securely locked/fastened/attached/held etc

▪ All firearms should be kept securely locked in a cabinet.

sth holds its value (=its value does not fall over time)

▪ Good quality furniture should hold its value.

sth holds/houses a collectionformal

▪ The museum holds a comprehensive collection of photographs from that period.

stretch/hold out your arms

▪ I dreamt I saw my mother again with her arms stretched out towards me.

strongly held/deeply held views (=strong views that someone is unwilling to change)

▪ He is known for his strongly held views on modern art.

strongly held/deeply held views (=strong views that someone is unwilling to change)

▪ He is known for his strongly held views on modern art.

take/hold a position (=have an opinion)

▪ We take the position that these changes are to be welcomed.

take/hold sb in your arms (=gently put your arms around someone you love)

▪ He took her in his arms and kissed her.

the police hold sb (also the police detain sbformal) (= keep them at a police station)

▪ The police can hold suspects for up to 48 hours without charge.

▪ The police detained several activists, but released them after questioning.

the weather holds (out) (=good weather continues in the same way)

▪ The forecast said the weather should hold until Tuesday.

what the future holds (=what will happen)

▪ He is worried about what the future holds for the company.

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

still

▪ He was still holding my arm but there was space between us.

▪ If both parties committed abandonment, adultery, or extreme cruelty, the union was still held to be inviolate.

▪ A little while later, still holding Maura in his arms, Michael threw his handful of dirt on to the coffin.

▪ I giggled with him, still holding back.

▪ However, the yacht club flourishes, and the regatta is still held.

▪ Why in the name of Bob Dole dressed as Carmen Miranda is that great steaming nonsense still held?

▪ He says they would still hold all the Liberal Deomcrat strongholds in the South.

▪ Remove the glass from the water, still holding it vertically, open side down.

■ NOUN

baby

▪ He could see a woman holding a young baby standing at the end of the hall.

▪ Her recovery had been slow, and she had not been able to see or hold her baby for twenty-four hours.

▪ Like many others, the problem was mostly the way she held the baby.

▪ When holding their baby, they experienced an overwhelming feeling of loving connection.

▪ Both hands free A sling like this enables you to hold your baby close without using your hands.

▪ Clarisa was sitting up in bed, propped against a pillow and holding the baby.

▪ Dad had his arm round Carrie, Carrie was cuddling Zen, Crystal was holding the new baby.

▪ Remember how Matt had to learn to hold his babies tight when they cried and had to overcome the boredom he felt?

balance

▪ During the general election the doggie vote could hold the balance of power.

▪ Since 1969 the centrist Free Democrats have held the balance of power in the Bundestag.

▪ But despite their endorsement in the municipal elections last October, it is not the moderates who hold the balance of power.

▪ A nebulous collective leadership, including the chiefs of the powerful armed forces, may still be holding the balance of power.

▪ Thomas Cranmer and Aleister Crowley were held in uneasy balance in his sympathies.

▪ One other group is expected to get more than 23 seats - and therefore to hold the balance of power.

belief

▪ Along with many of his contemporaries, Mercator held the Baconian belief that knowledge should be exploited for utilitarian ends.

▪ We are of the deeply held belief that many human beings have come to behave as materialistic tyrants.

▪ Do you hold any specific beliefs about what might be called beauty?

▪ Groups of work-inhibited students may reinforce mutually held beliefs that school is a negative environment.

▪ It was the commonly held belief then that never again would this communal beast be allowed to rear its head.

▪ We constantly challenged and reviewed our own most devoutly held beliefs.

▪ Ten years later, his new book shows that he no longer holds such a belief.

▪ He held a peculiar scientific belief relating to this matter.

breath

▪ He examined the pieces with the naked eye, then with his glass, while behind him Isobel held her breath.

▪ We held our breath from the fourth pick on.

▪ She didn't want to hear, but she held her breath and listened for any sound.

▪ As the others crossed their fingers and held their breath, he gently eased away the back plate.

▪ An anxious nation holds its breath.

▪ She held her breath and listened.

▪ We held our breath as Loi carefully pulled in the last few yards of line hand over hand.

conference

▪ In 1830, the National Association held its first conference.

▪ No one held a news conference to tout this one, and days passed before anyone caught wind of it.

▪ It holds an overnight conference during the Easter vacation.

▪ Fujimori said previous radio contacts broke off after the guerrillas held an impromptu news conference, disrupting negotiations up to that point.

▪ If it had only been possible to hold the conference without him!

▪ Recently, for example, Clinton held a news conference to explain what he had been doing vis-a-vis political contributors.

▪ The Maastricht treaty commits them to holding a big treaty-revising conference in 1996.

▪ The jurors in the criminal trial did not hold a news conference after their verdict and in many cases avoided in-depth interviews.

court

▪ If one party freely consents to a clause, a court is unlikely to hold it unreasonable.

▪ A key question for the court is whether Jackson held his views about Microsoft before he began hearing the case.

▪ First, a court might hold that there was no authority to make the rule and invalidate it.

▪ Several courts have held, however, that express disclaimers in employee handbooks can negate any promises made.

▪ Yesterday a court agreed to police holding them a further 36 hours.

▪ Some courts have held prior review procedures unconstitutional because they lacked either clear standards or due process safeguards.

▪ Alternatively, the court may hold that occupancy was shared between the guest and the hotel.

▪ Fears about the admissibility of electronic invoices as evidence in court proceedings have held back some factors.

election

▪ Yet there are still no plans to hold an election.

▪ Oklahoma is expected to hold a special election on the issue early next year.

▪ Why else would you hold an election?

▪ Dos Santos has suggested that he may hold national elections next year.

▪ After Diem refused to hold the elections in 1956, meanwhile, the Viet Minh in the South grew restive.

▪ He challenged de Klerk to hold a whites-only election.

▪ Why, oh why, could not the debate on the Bill be held after the general election?

exhibition

▪ Here are held temporary art exhibitions.

▪ The races are held at Exhibition Place.

▪ Leigh's retainer as a consultant has supported the space, which held five exhibitions until it closed this fall.

▪ In 1933 Schulz held exhibitions of his drawings and engravings in Warsaw.

▪ The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, which held its inaugural exhibition in 1888, came into being through his initiative.

hand

▪ His hand slid downwards, holding hers in a grip that was suddenly unbreakable.

▪ Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?

▪ I hold your hand and you hold mine.

▪ A single Macintosh disk, on the other hand, could hold ten of those chapters!

▪ A gasp escaped her as his arms clasped her against him, one hand holding her head to his shoulder.

▪ The hands that held the lines were freckled like tortillas.

▪ A hand holding a scrap of hanky pressed on her veil where her mouth was.

▪ I wait, hands held high, elbows still threatening to drip one last drop.

head

▪ Note how they hold their heads high above the surface.

▪ I saw how he held his head, slightly stiffly, and how the very air around him seemed charged.

▪ These teachers exerted considerable influence within the school, because they held positions as heads of departments or as year heads.

▪ He held my head as I pumped away.

▪ She held her head proudly and, even before she moved, conveyed a feline quality of grace and languor.

▪ A gladiator named Justice holding the distinctive Salinas head in one hand, a bloodied sword in the other.

▪ A gasp escaped her as his arms clasped her against him, one hand holding her head to his shoulder.

▪ The writer reached his side a minute after, to find General Hill holding the head and shoulders of the wounded chief.

hope

▪ And he could hold out no hope of any financial assistance.

▪ The sky, however, held out hope.

▪ When Topaz arrived at the residence of Lord Oswin Lovat she didn't hold out much hope of prising his purse open.

▪ Still, I held on to my hope.

▪ I want Fairfax to tell me, but I don't hold out much hope.

▪ I don't hold out much hope though!

▪ Look, don't hold out too much hope that you're going to be successful in this.

▪ For if the landscape holds some hope to the left it brings with it threats from the right.

hostage

▪ On 26 July 1986 Father Lawrence Jenco was released after being held hostage for 18 months.

▪ Don Nickles, R-Okla. who is holding the bill hostage because Sen.

▪ At least Shudder To Think refuse to hold history hostage.

▪ The Packers are owned by their fans, so the city can not be held hostage for a new stadium.

▪ One is the extent of her familiarity with Nestor Cerpa Cartolini, the leader of the rebels holding the hostages.

▪ In effect, Gingrich is holding the Interior Department hostage to his attempt to put new restrictions on Medicare patients.

▪ Yet, the Republican Party is being held hostage by the religious zealots.

key

▪ Then, hold down the Shift key and move the cursor to the end of the block you want selected.

▪ Teachers frequently believe it is the parents who hold the key and that they should do more to help.

▪ Jennifer Smith holds the key to the 1996 election, so it is as well to get to know her.

▪ Privatization could hold the key to upgrading the infrastructure.

▪ Zoom Control Move mouse over the molecule, hold Shift key, click and hold mouse button and drag.

▪ Some threatened species have special qualities or abilities and may hold the key to undiscovered benefits.

▪ That second paradox, I believe, holds the key to the mysteries that still envelop the new regime.

▪ It was a great exit, but I should have held on to the keys.

meeting

▪ Newcastle held their annual general meeting last night behind closed doors.

▪ It involves presentations to staff and parents, setting up exhibitions and holding meetings with key staff members.

▪ In the absence of conclusive consensus, it was agreed to hold a further meeting in Madrid in April 1991.

▪ We also hold regular meetings of volunteers to discuss issues of concern and encourage one another.

▪ Management is holding a series of meetings with workers today.

▪ If this were the case it would explain why they had not held meetings on this occasion.

▪ Schools should also hold meetings for prospective parents.

▪ The only optimistic statement came from the third cadre of military transport, which had recently held two cell meetings.

office

▪ High priority is given to any of their senior members who have held ministerial office.

▪ He stated that the civil service had been opened to people of all parties who were qualified to hold office.

▪ During the reign of John, Hugh de Neville held that office.

▪ A citizen should play an active part.-He might hold a local office.

▪ Other peers who hold or have held high judicial office may sit but rarely do so.

▪ Nor did it stipulate how long the incumbent would hold office until fresh elections produced a successful candidate.

▪ After the Restoration he was one of those not actually attainted but perpetually disabled from holding any office.

▪ A Director so appointed shall hold office only until the next following annual general meeting.

position

▪ In both cases Black might still be able to hold the position.

▪ Mayers has been with the company for 10 years and has held several positions.

▪ He has also held the position of factory manager.

▪ Paul, and has held other executive positions in the Twin Cities and Grand Forks area.

▪ These teachers exerted considerable influence within the school, because they held positions as heads of departments or as year heads.

▪ Still, the region holds a respectable position in the information-heavy world.

▪ Even if you hold some position of great authority, you don't have to be solemn all the time.

▪ I had advanced through the ranks and held a responsible middle-management position.

post

▪ That did not make him a great writer, nor did that fact prevent his holding an important literary post.

▪ House Republican Conference rules prohibit a censured lawmaker from being a committee chairman or holding a leadership post.

▪ She held the post till her retirement thirty years later.

▪ Two of the ministers particularly distinguished themselves by holding the post for a six-month period.

▪ He held the post until November 1922 - the longest period for which a Weimar Chancellor had yet survived.

▪ Zlatoper has held several Pentagon posts, including military assistant to the secretary of defense from 1983 to 1985.

▪ He had held the post only since January.

▪ The proportion of women who hold senior political posts remains low.

promise

▪ So too the yawning depths of the wave, even while threatening annihilation, hold out the promise of rebirth.

▪ Frustration of my plans to lighten the disaster will convince people that the future holds no promise to them.

▪ Clark's work clearly holds promise of a new class of antimalarials, even though there is much still to be done.

▪ State access Smart communities hold a lot of promise for state officials.

▪ For the moment Christmas on the slopes holds little promise.

▪ It is an experience that holds out promise of perfection.

▪ The report presents a strong case for continuing work on gasification although south south cooperation would seem to hold most promise.

▪ Economic advance still holds little promise of betterment for the average man in many countries.

record

▪ The situation is modified when records are stored in buckets holding several records, but synonyms still occur.

▪ Brian Treggs holds the record with 167 career receptions.

▪ They also hold the League's record score a 21-0 win over North Skelton Rovers in 1895.

▪ And it came from a famous maker: another Farman, a Goliath, had held the endurance record in 1921.

▪ How long should I hold on to records?

▪ Before that, Microsoft Corp. held the record of 47. 93 million shares traded, on June 6, 1994.

▪ Finance holds income and expenditure records, together with annual accounts, departmental expenditure records, and an Asset Register.

▪ It held the box-office record until Gone with the wind moved more tickets in 1939 and 1940.

referendum

▪ We should not go so far as to hold a referendum, but the people must have the final say.

▪ If it is approved, 30-day period opens for anyone wishing to hold a referendum drive to overturn the deal.

▪ On the subject of the draft union treaty, Gorbachev introduced the idea of holding a referendum on it throughout the country.

▪ Moldavia refused to hold the referendum on the grounds that it would worsen ethnic tensions in the republic.

▪ Why hold a referendum, when no one could challenge the imposition of his will?

▪ It has prompted President De Klerk to hold a referendum to guage white support on ending apartheid.

▪ June 25: Moldavia's President Snegur announced that the republic would hold a referendum on independence in the autumn.

▪ In 1992 western governments had allowed Bosnia to hold a referendum and become an independent state.

seat

▪ In fact, if that result were repeated we would hold all our 28 seats and gain four more from Labour.

▪ The group of smaller Catholic parties allied with Berlusconi hold 34 seats.

▪ For the moment, Mr Rocard is probably just praying that he can hold on to his seat in the Yvelines.

▪ I leaned forward, holding on to the seat in front of me.

▪ I was floating, held by my seat belt.

▪ Allen Hightower, a Democrat who has held his seat since 1983.

▪ He was returned for Aldershot in 1970 and held the seat until 1997, when he did not seek re-election.

▪ Republicans, at the moment, hold 41 seats while Democrats have 37.

view

▪ I used to hold a similar view.

▪ The percentage of voters who hold a favorable view of Gramm has declined from 54 percent in 1990 to 41 percent.

▪ Freud, however, did not hold this view and hoped to find the true root of his patients' hysteria.

▪ One who held to this view was Lord Kelvin himself.

▪ There is a further complication in that individuals hold views about health at a variety of different levels of analysis.

▪ That was not a widely held view when Republicans arrived here a week ago.

▪ The economic conditions of the 19705 do not lead to optimism if one continues to hold this view.

▪ At the end of his first six months in office, 45 percent of Texans surveyed held a negative view of Clinton.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a firm grip/hold/grasp etc

▪ As darkness gains a firmer grip the songbirds fade and the owls start.

▪ As soon as one does so, its lips close around it, giving it a firm hold.

▪ But at current levels the shares are a firm hold.

▪ Choose a firm hold variant which will keep your style in place during winder weather and light drizzle.

▪ Clumps of sturdy weed grew wherever they could take a firm hold.

▪ I keep a firm grip on my hat and stare into the blustery abyss.

▪ It's safe but you need to have a firm grip to cut a 13-amp flex.

▪ Usually this happens because the task is too broadly stated to get a firm grasp on it.

a tight hold/grip

▪ The new business manager has a tight hold on the budget.

▪ Apple, however, kept a tight grip on its technology and suffered the consequences.

▪ Dominic crept carefully down the stairs, keeping a tight hold on the gleaming mahogany banister.

▪ He had a tight hold on the audience, totally in command of his band.

▪ It should not be imagined that the tiny Party élite at either of these provincial levels could maintain a tight hold.

▪ She would be keeping a tight hold on her feelings from now on.

▪ The best way for the government to achieve this is to keep a tight grip on the tigerish tendencies of the economy.

▪ The purge reflects the party leadership's concern with keeping a tight hold on the political reins.

▪ We got up, he pushed me roughly towards the door, keeping a tight hold of me.

be stuck/held fast

▪ A character who is held fast can not move or fight, and is treated as prone.

▪ Balor was struggling and writhing, but his limbs were held fast and only his thick, shapeless body could move.

▪ Persephone sprang into her arms and was held fast there.

▪ She tried to pull her hand free, but it was held fast.

▪ She tried to struggle, but she was held fast.

can't hold a candle to sb/sth

▪ Basketball stars today can't hold a candle to Michael Jordan.

don't hold your breath

▪ If you're waiting for the Cubs to win the series, don't hold your breath.

extend/offer/hold out etc an olive branch (to sb)

get (hold of) the wrong end of the stick

have a sure hold/footing

have/hold sth in your hot little hand

have/hold/want no truck with sb/sth

▪ But it does lead inevitably to ignorance, for you can not understand what you deliberately chose to have no truck with.

▪ Its radicals, who dominate the leadership, want no truck with Mr Gorbachev.

▪ Then the people who get penalised are the majority who want no truck with him.

▪ We in the Conservative Party have no truck with that style of gutter journalism which we were forced to endure last Sunday.

hold court

▪ The days when he held court at the hotel's supper club seem far away now.

▪ Artists who have arrived at that position are expected to sit still and hold court.

▪ Baseball raconteur Bill Rigney is holding court at a window table.

▪ For hour after hour, without a break, clearly relishing the attention, Kevorkian holds court.

▪ I am holding court, lady of the mansion.

▪ Instead, he could hold court for his many buyers in his studio garage.

▪ Ken Bradshaw was holding court among a handful of Waimea veterans.

▪ Somewhere in the smoky crowd the authoress and photographer, Jill Freedman from New York, was holding court.

hold sb for ransom

hold sb to ransom

▪ The president said that the company would not be held to ransom by strikes.

▪ What gives cheaper fuel campaigners the right to hold the country to ransom?

▪ By his behaviour Yeltsin has held Clinton to ransom.

▪ It attacks the foundations of a free society, encouraging those with industrial or commercial muscle to hold others to ransom.

▪ The countries that control it will be able to hold their clients to ransom.

▪ The idea of one global power holding the other to ransom seems less credible now than it has done previously.

▪ They could buy out national debts, hold governments to ransom, close down whole economies if they wanted to.

▪ What's outrageous is that one powerful and greedy bully, followed by its lackeys, can hold the world to ransom.

▪ Without some such law the rich could hold the poor to ransom.

hold sth at arm's length

hold sth dear

▪ Everything I held dear was destroyed in the war.

hold the aces

hold up your head

▪ He had held up his head in the most exalted company.

▪ How does he hold up his head if he knows his wife is deceiving him?

hold/hang on for/like grim death

hold/have sb in the palm of your hand

▪ She's got the whole committee in the palm of her hand.

hold/keep your end up

▪ It helped them keep their end up in battle, too, claim historians.

▪ It is difficult to get skips in this age group capable of keeping their end up at this level of competition.

▪ Richter kept his end up by arranging a press visit to Huemul Island on 21 June, 1951.

hold/keep your peace

▪ And since the credit accrued to him, he held his peace.

▪ But Kate knew when enough was enough so she kept her peace.

▪ But she held her peace and waited for the miracle.

▪ Colonel Fergusson nodded indulgently at such pertness and obstinacy, but held his peace.

▪ Gorbachev, like any husband in his circumstances, kept his peace.

▪ No, better to hold her peace and pretend.

▪ So I decide to hold my peace for a little while longer.

▪ Why did he want to hold his peace?

hold/stand your ground

▪ As his father approached, Richard retreated steadily, never once daring to stand his ground against him.

▪ I calculate, I stand my ground.

▪ Not enough to start a war; just enough to let me stand my ground without having to think about it first.

▪ Richmann stood his ground, certain he would be able to jump out of the. way if things went wrong.

▪ The guide, however, stood his ground, frantically giving me unrecognizable signs.

▪ The Housing Executive stood its ground and refused to transfer money earmarked for other projects.

▪ Williams' job was to hold his ground or drop into pass coverage.

▪ You know when to stand your ground and when to give in.

keep/hold sb at arm's length

▪ Economic policies kept the Soviet Union and Japan at arm's length during the Cold War.

keep/hold sb/sth in check

▪ The court heard that the general was unable to keep his troops in check.

▪ The disease is held in check by weekly injections of a power drug.

▪ A small bag of zeolite was used for three days, every two weeks to keep ammonia in check.

▪ But it was rookie Coach Ray Rhodes who gets the most credit for keeping the team in check.

▪ Churn makes it harder for charities to raise money, keeps real-estate prices in check and politics volatile.

▪ His own temper rose, but he held it in check.

▪ In one important area the Navy held its ambitions in check for bargaining reasons within the Whitehall market-place.

▪ Mulch plants each spring with straw to conserve moisture and keep weeds in check.

▪ What is new is that the controls which held this population in check no longer exist.

keep/hold sth at bay

▪ Sandbags kept the floodwaters at bay.

▪ The government hopes to keep inflation at bay.

▪ All in all, the eatery is a breakfast bargain, with enough different components to keep boredom at bay.

▪ Another technique for keeping performance anxiety at bay is the group sing-along.

▪ Brown has kept the tumult at bay.

▪ Concentrating on Emma would help to keep her worries at bay for a little while.

▪ He was gritting his teeth against the pain, keeping it at bay while he studied the stump, the severed hand.

▪ My voice holds them at bay.

▪ She holds the adventurers at bay by holding the scroll over a candle flame and threatening to destroy it.

▪ Two green glazed lions guarded the gates to keep evil spirits at bay.

put/hold a gun to sb's head

▪ He might as well have put a gun to my head.

stand/hold firm

▪ Although momentarily tempted by the seductively rich chocolate dessert Sabrina's willpower held firm and she gave it to Graham.

▪ Another went to a selectman for standing firm.

▪ But de Gaulle held firm because he knew that time was working in his favour.

▪ C., held firm, since the federal government kept hiring more and more bureaucrats.

▪ He stands firm on his convictions.

▪ Last week the closely held firm announced it had sold $ 17. 25 million worth of limited partnership interests.

▪ Mr Scargill urged the miners to prepare for battle: they must stand firm over their wage claim.

▪ They need to describe initially what issues they want to stand firm on and what issues they can give way to.

stand/serve/hold sb in good stead

▪ As a small boy, I devised my own set of cartoon animals, and they now stood me in good stead.

▪ But her beloved circus may have served her in better stead than regular outings to, say, the ballet.

▪ Despite his lack of political experience, Clouthier's 20-year leadership of business organisations stood him in good stead.

▪ Insomnia would stand him in good stead in this expanse of knee-high cover.

▪ Now we had moved on to bigger and better things, this predictability still stood us in good stead.

▪ These shoes had stood him in good stead.

▪ This habit of work, which is by now natural to me, has stood me in good stead.

▪ Those contacts, he says, still serve him in good stead today.

wait a minute/just a minute/hold on a minute/hang on a minute

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

▪ A blank data disk can hold about 360,000 characters.

▪ a situation in which a husband and wife both hold shares in a family company

▪ A smiling woman holding a can of beer came over to us.

▪ As long as the mild weather holds, you can keep planting.

▪ Each carton holds 113 oranges.

▪ Heat the stock in a pot large enough to hold the fish.

▪ I held her until she went to sleep.

▪ I held the money tightly in my hand.

▪ I got the post office to hold our mail while we were on vacation.

▪ I just want a shelf that will hold some plants.

▪ I took a glass of champagne from the tray the waiter held out.

▪ IBM still holds shares in the new company.

▪ In the photograph there was a small boy holding a flag.

▪ Lost items will be held for thirty days.

▪ Militant prisoners held 24 guards hostage on Friday, as jail unrest spread throughout the country.

▪ No one knows where the kidnapped woman is being held.

▪ Police are holding two men for questioning in connection with the robbery.

▪ Several tourists were being held captive by rebels in Kashmir.

▪ She held a baby in her arms.

▪ She works for Le Monde, where the staff hold a significant stake in the company.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

▪ Galvanized metal buckets, filled with ice, can hold beverages such as small bottles of ice tea, juices and water.

▪ I held him under the spigot and squeezed his chest as the icy water ran over him.

▪ No state yet to hold a primary has as many major media markets as Ohio.

▪ Plans are well advanced to hold two-day Workshops for staff of colleges invited to progress their Pilot Proposals to Stage 2.

▪ So she rode slowly through them, mostly holding her breath and praying that they wouldn't charge at her.

▪ The Van Gogh holds the world auction price record of $ 82.5m.

▪ Twenty-four solar systems held by the enemy had recently been destroyed.

II.noun

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADJECTIVE

firm

▪ But at current levels the shares are a firm hold.

▪ As she staggered awkwardly, he grabbed firm hold of the sagging pyjama-jacket, arresting her flight as he held her there.

▪ Clumps of sturdy weed grew wherever they could take a firm hold.

▪ As soon as one does so, its lips close around it, giving it a firm hold.

▪ Recognizing the all-too familiar symptoms, Manville fought against the gathering depression before it took too firm a hold on him.

▪ Each brush has a heat-resistant handle with a rubber-neck grip for firm hold while you style.

▪ Teachers of reading need to keep a firm hold of their hats, their expertise and their integrity.

strong

▪ Many other features of late medieval Catholicism exercised a similarly strong hold over the popular mind.

▪ Styled by Scissors Gel maintains its strong hold on styling as one of the essential hair products for men.

▪ Evil has such a strong hold on Gollum that he does not have control over his own mind any more.

tight

▪ She would be keeping a tight hold on her feelings from now on.

▪ We got up, he pushed me roughly towards the door, keeping a tight hold of me.

▪ The tighter political hold was in part a reaction to the worsening economic and organizational situation in cultural affairs.

▪ He had a tight hold on the audience, totally in command of his band.

▪ Philip gripped tight hold of Caspar's collar.

▪ The tight hold was maintained by Thatcher's government.

▪ For Winnie herself, it required the tightest hold, the fumes of the stuff, to keep her wits about her.

▪ Keep tight hold and continue while there's time.

■ NOUN

cargo

▪ She was in the cargo hold, standing on the ribbed floor of the shuttle next to the loading hatch.

▪ And a third beam was forced into the cargo hold.

▪ Demyonov had gone home last week in an elaborate casket dark inside the cargo hold of a Tupolev airliner.

▪ That would force airline workers to retrieve that travelers' bag from the cargo hold.

▪ Chests of tea and bales of wool can be found in the lower cargo hold.

▪ There were dull thuds from the cargo hold.

▪ If the wiring were overheating, it could have caused oxygen-generating canisters in the cargo hold to explode, he said.

■ VERB

break

▪ Huey the Snake had a grip on the local drugs network, so the Richardson's moved in to break his hold.

▪ He is not a moderate who wants to break the conservative hold on the party.

▪ Generally, if attempting to break a hold avoid big movements.

▪ And before she could break the hold, the king's remark turned all attention on her again.

▪ Graham broke the hold and swivelled Samir round as Al-Makesh fired.

catch

▪ Taking her completely by surprise, he caught hold of her arm and pulled her towards him.

▪ Bowman caught hold of the short lever fastened to the valve and with his last strength pulled it down.

▪ It caught hold of a chair and, with a great deal of grunting, managed to tip it over.

▪ On March 4 she caught hold of the end of her buggy and twice pulled herself to her feet.

▪ She wanted desperately to catch hold of his arm, to stop him walking out of her life.

▪ He fainted from pain but caught hold of the iron railing of a house and remained erect.

▪ He went down trying to catch hold of the breath he'd just lost.

get

▪ All I'd been told was to get hold of her and scare her, get Gerald rattled, you know.

▪ She wanted to know how she could get hold of that poem, and maybe that whole book.

▪ Pieper tried and failed to get hold of the outfits to brief them and to gauge their reaction.

▪ How had he got hold of that name?

▪ He'd like to get hold of a gun and blow them all away.

▪ Police are concerned that the poison may be dumped and children may get hold of it.

▪ Then you put a good big handle on it, so that everyone can get hold of it and pick it up.

grab

▪ It is remarkable, Hardin, how the religion of science has grabbed hold.

▪ She grabbed hold of it and peered down the microscope again.

▪ He grabbed hold of the chainlink fence that surrounded the empty schoolyard.

▪ They grab hold of the killer's flesh, clamp tight and then cast off the claw.

▪ Life began when energy grabbed hold of some dust and would not let it go.

▪ But Daine was smart enough to grab hold of you.

▪ A couple of lads grab hold of the Monkey and stuff a rag in his mouth.

keep

▪ I kept good hold of her, part-dragging her after me.

▪ It is the parallel and barefaced cheek of their methods to keep hold of political office that really takes the breath away.

▪ She would be keeping a tight hold on her feelings from now on.

▪ This, I thought, was how South Vermont kept hold of its errant children.

▪ If only you had kept hold of McGovern and O'Hare, you won't find players like them in a hurry.

▪ The economists at Goldman Sachs believe that rates will be kept on hold for all of next year.

▪ Then you could catch your knave speedily and keep hold of him.

▪ Instead, she had kept hold of herself, saving face.

loosen

▪ Culley waited for the spasm to pass, and loosened his hold a fraction.

▪ It was on a block where he encountered three soldiers that he began to loosen his hold on the sequence.

▪ It will be intriguing to see how Brecht's play stands up at a time when Communism is loosening its ideological hold.

lose

▪ There was a quietness about her that Mary had seen before when people were losing their hold on life.

▪ But old habits are losing their hold on me.

▪ It has also warned that some customers could be faced with paying more if it lost its hold on the household market.

▪ Behind her head the television lost its vertical hold and the picture scrolled slowly upward.

▪ Religion lost its hold on the social imagination when it was seen to embody qualities opposed to science: irrationality and superstition.

▪ He feels the rum starting to lose its hold.

▪ Any cuckoo nestling that lost its hold, even momentarily, over its host would have died as a result.

▪ Primo could feel his fingers losing hold of the on / off switch of his intake valve.

maintain

▪ Styled by Scissors Gel maintains its strong hold on styling as one of the essential hair products for men.

▪ Chapter books require that we and our children maintain our hold on the story line over the duration of the reading period.

▪ To gain and maintain his hold over the Company Sulivan had to become a formidable politician and he inevitably made many enemies.

▪ It should not be imagined that the tiny Party élite at either of these provincial levels could maintain a tight hold.

place

▪ According to some commentators the peace process would effectively be placed on hold at least until January 1993 when Clinton took office.

▪ The soft drink deal was placed on hold last year after the Postal Service Board of Governors learned of the federal investigation.

▪ But he shows no bitterness that his life was placed on hold for 12 months while he made a full recovery.

▪ Instead, his life was placed on hold.

▪ It was placed on hold because of the court action.

put

▪ It gave her a chance to put everything on hold for a brief while, recharge the batteries after a flight.

▪ Misgivings about the impact of the bomb could be put on hold.

▪ She also had been able to put her feelings on hold as she concentrated on the problems facing her.

▪ Cold temperatures do not kill bacteria, they just put them on hold.

▪ These projects have been put on hold indefinitely.

▪ Her own plans had to be put on hold.

▪ All that was put on hold on March 20, 1990.

▪ If the justices rule for Clinton, the lawsuit will be put on hold for four more years.

release

▪ It was a long time before Guy released his fierce hold on her, and reluctantly thrust her away from him.

▪ She exacted a public promise from Chaffee that he would release his hold on the bill.

▪ Tamar would have been happy to finish the association, but Davis would not release his hold on her.

▪ Before dispatching the rabbit it is necessary to induce the ferret to release its hold.

▪ It opens its mouth to scream and releases its hold.

retain

▪ He retained his hold on her wrist but made no move to pull her to her feet.

seize

▪ She seized hold of the door handle and tried to open it.

▪ One of the snakes had seized hold of its own tail and the form whirled mockingly before my eyes.

▪ Alison had seized hold of Franca's long plait of dark hair and drawn it out from behind the chair.

take

▪ An anti-doctor religion apparently took hold here in the 1920s.

▪ Her imagination took hold of the idea and terrorized her at the thought of the hospital catching fire.

▪ Then with an energy which he had not yet displayed he took hold of Patrick.

▪ We funded those actions out of our many savings elsewhere, as our family of quality programs took hold.

▪ Whatever affects us deeply will also take hold of our souls.

▪ The wine Adrienne had kept passing to her was taking hold of an empty stomach.

▪ As the wine took hold I glanced in her direction with increasing frequency, often to find her already looking at me.

▪ Grief took hold of Achilles, so black that those around him feared for his life.

tighten

▪ The suspended despair inside her splintered into a shuddering sob and Fernando tightened his hold on her.

▪ But the king merely tightened his hold, as if all this energy had sweated drunkenness out of him.