Wiktionary
holds off
vb. (en-third-person singular of: hold off)
Usage examples of "holds off".
Horm the Dead, streaming with blood, screams in rage as he holds off Makri and a Centaur.
As the Simbul holds off the Red Wizards, to keep her realm of Aglarond safe.
If this peasant rebellion just holds off for another month, I'll have all the wheat we'll need over in Treborea.
THOUGH THE STORM THAT THREATENS HOLDS OFF UNTIL THEY ARE OUT FROM UNDER IT, THE WIND IS HOWLING MOURNFULLY BEHIND THEM, SHOVING THEM AWAY FROM THE CHARRED FRAGMENTS OF DUMI'S PYRE.
It is only after Pandarus leaves that she reveals in a soliloquy that she is actually in love with Troilus, but holds off because she thinks women are valued only as long as they are not attained.