| / English Dictionary |
HOLD OUT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Thrust or extend out
Example:
the bee exserted its sting
Synonyms:
exsert; extend; hold out; put out; stretch forth; stretch out
Classified under:
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care
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
Synonyms:
hold out; resist; stand firm; withstand
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
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:
Continue to live and avoid dying
Example:
One crash victim died, the other lived
Synonyms:
endure; go; hold out; hold up; last; live; live on; survive
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
"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
Sense 4
Meaning:
Wait uncompromisingly for something desirable
Example:
He held out for the dessert and did not touch the cheeses
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
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:
Last and be usable
Example:
This dress wore well for almost ten years
Synonyms:
endure; hold out; wear
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
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
Context examples:
At present she is unable to give any coherent account of the past, and the doctors hold out no hopes of the reestablishment of her reason.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A well-disposed young woman, who did not marry for love, was in general but the more attached to her own family; and the nearness of Sotherton to Mansfield must naturally hold out the greatest temptation, and would, in all probability, be a continual supply of the most amiable and innocent enjoyments.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
But her faith in the good spot which exists in the heart of the naughtiest, sauciest, most tantalizing little ragamuffin gave her patience, skill, and in time success, for no mortal boy could hold out long with Father Bhaer shining on him as benevolently as the sun, and Mother Bhaer forgiving him seventy times seven.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
There were, in fact, so many things to be attended to, so many people to be pleased, so many best characters required, and, above all, such a need that the play should be at once both tragedy and comedy, that there did seem as little chance of a decision as anything pursued by youth and zeal could hold out.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
She could not, though only eighteen, suppose Mr. Crawford's attachment would hold out for ever; she could not but imagine that steady, unceasing discouragement from herself would put an end to it in time.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
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