hold back

hold back
verb
1. hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of (Freq. 4)
-

Arrest the downward trend

-

Check the growth of communism in South East Asia

-

Contain the rebel movement

-

Turn back the tide of communism

• Syn: ↑check, ↑turn back, ↑arrest, ↑stop, ↑contain
• Derivationally related forms: ↑containment (for: ↑contain), ↑stop (for: ↑stop)
• Hypernyms: ↑defend
• Hyponyms: ↑cut down, ↑cut out
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

-

Somebody ——s somebody

-

Something ——s somebody

-

Something ——s something

2. keep under control; keep in check (Freq. 1)
-

suppress a smile

-

Keep your temper

-

keep your cool

• Syn: ↑restrain, ↑keep, ↑keep back
• Derivationally related forms: ↑restrainer (for: ↑restrain), ↑restraint (for: ↑restrain)
• Hypernyms: ↑inhibit, ↑bottle up, ↑suppress
• Hyponyms:
↑hold, ↑confine, ↑inhibit, ↑bottle up, ↑suppress, ↑control, ↑hold in, ↑contain, ↑check, ↑curb, ↑moderate
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s somebody

-

Somebody ——s somebody PP

3. refrain from doing
-

she forbore a snicker

• Syn: ↑forbear
• Hypernyms: ↑refrain, ↑forbear
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s

4. wait before acting
-

the scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment

• Syn: ↑wait, ↑hold off
• Derivationally related forms: ↑wait (for: ↑wait), ↑waiter (for: ↑wait)
• Hypernyms: ↑act, ↑move
• Hyponyms: ↑hold out, ↑delay
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s

-

Somebody ——s something

-

Somebody ——s VERB-ing

-

They hold back a long time

5. hold back; keep from being perceived by others
-

She conceals her anger well

• Syn: ↑conceal, ↑hold in
• Derivationally related forms: ↑concealment (for: ↑conceal), ↑concealing (for: ↑conceal)
• Hyponyms: ↑occult
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

6. secure and keep for possible future use or application
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The landlord retained the security deposit

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I reserve the right to disagree

• Syn: ↑retain, ↑hold, ↑keep back
• Derivationally related forms: ↑holding (for: ↑hold), ↑retention (for: ↑retain)
• Hypernyms: ↑keep, ↑hold on
• Hyponyms: ↑hold down
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

-

They hold back the money

* * *

hesitate to act or speak

he held back, remembering the mistake he had made before

* * *

hold back [phrasal verb]
1 a : to stop yourself from doing something

She wanted to introduce herself to him but she held back out of shyness.

1 b : to make a less than complete effort

She could have beaten him in the race, but she held back and let him win. [=she did not run as fast as she could have so that he would win]

1 c hold (someone) back : to stop (someone) from doing something

Once he starts talking, there's no holding him back. [=it's very hard to get him to stop talking]

2 hold (something) back or hold back (something)
2 a : to not allow (something) to be seen or known by someone

He was unable to hold back his tears. [=to keep from crying]

The government held back [=withheld] some crucial information from the media.

I know you're angry, so don't hold anything back (from me). [=tell me everything]

2 b : to keep (something)

He held several thousand dollars back in case of an emergency.

2 c : to delay (something)

The company held back the first shipment of the new product until it was completely ready.

3 hold (someone or something) back or hold back (someone or something) : to stop (someone or something) from moving forward : to stop (someone or something) from advancing to the next level, grade, or stage

She might have been more successful, but bad health held her back.

He was held back [=kept back] in first grade.

• • •
Main Entry: ↑hold

* * *

ˌhold ˈback (from doing sth) | ˌhold sb ˈback (from doing sth) derived
to hesitate or to make sb hesitate to act or speak

•

She held back, not knowing how to break the terrible news.

•

I wanted to tell him the truth, but something held me back.

Main entry: ↑holdderived

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • hold back — / hold off [v] repress bit, bridle, check, control, curb, defer, delay, deny, forbear, hold down, hold in, inhibit, keep, keep back, keep out, postpone, prevent, put off, refrain, refuse, restrain, stop, suppress, withhold; concepts 121,130 Ant.… …   New thesaurus

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  • hold back — hold, withhold, reserve, detain, retain, *keep, keep back, keep out …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • hold back — ► hold back hesitate. Main Entry: ↑hold …   English terms dictionary

  • hold back — index arrest (stop), avoid (evade), balk, clog, confine, constrain (restrain) …   Law dictionary

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  • hold back — phrasal verb Word forms hold back : present tense I/you/we/they hold back he/she/it holds back present participle holding back past tense held back past participle held back 1) [transitive] to stop someone or something from moving forwards Ollie… …   English dictionary

  • hold back — v. 1) (D; tr.) ( to keep ) to hold back from (lack of education held him back from promotion) 2) (d; intr.) to hold back with (to hold back with one s reserves) * * * [ həʊld bæk] (D; tr.) ( to keep ) to hold back from (lack of education held him …   Combinatory dictionary

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