hold out
Britishverb
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(tr) to offer or present
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(intr) to last or endure
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(intr) to continue to resist or stand firm, as a city under siege or a person refusing to succumb to persuasion
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to withhold (something due or expected)
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to wait patiently or uncompromisingly for (the fulfilment of one's demands)
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informal to delay in or keep from telling (a person) some new or important information
noun
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a person, country, organization, etc, that continues to resist or refuses to change
Honecker was one of the staunchest holdouts against reform
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a person, country, organization, etc, that declines to cooperate or participate
they remain the only holdouts to signing the accord
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Extend, stretch forth; also, present or offer something. For example, He held out his hand and she took it , or The new policy held out promise of major changes in the welfare program . These usages date from the first half of the 1500s and of the 1600s respectively.
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Last, continue to be in supply or service, as in The food is holding out nicely . [Late 1500s] Also see hold up , def. 4.
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Continue to resist, as in The garrison held out for another month . [Second half of 1700s]
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Withhold cooperation, agreement, or information, as in We've asked for a better deal, but they've been holding out for months . It is also put as hold out on , as in They were still holding out on some of the provisions , or He's not telling us what happened; he's holding out on us .
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hold out for . Insist on obtaining, as in The union is still holding out for a better contract . [c. 1900]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It wasn’t all good news for the Bruins on the first rotation — Rosen sustained a foot injury and was held out for the remainder of the meet.
From Los Angeles Times
It's not like I was holding out that you were going to be a footballer.'
From BBC
There’s a tension in his art, between fracture and mending, destruction and creation, that holds out a promise of rebirth and lends humble forms outsize power.
The statement adds, “Costco has prioritized keeping its chickens at $4.99 over ensuring those chickens are safe to eat, all while holding out its poultry to consumers as top-quality and wholesome.”
From Salon
Grant, wisely, has considered how long he can afford to hold out and how much pay he might be willing to forgo to avoid commuting to Boston or Providence.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
