hold on

See also: holdon and Holdon

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

hold on (third-person singular simple present holds on, present participle holding on, simple past and past participle held on)

1. To grasp or grip firmly.

   Hold on tightly to the railing.

2. (idiomatic) To keep; to store something for someone.

   Hold on to my umbrella while I ride the roller coaster.

3. (idiomatic) To retain an advantage.

   I'm holding on to my trump cards until I really need them.

4. (idiomatic) Wait a short while.

   Hold on while I get my coat.

   • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

     The departure was not unduly prolonged. In the road Mr. Love and the driver favoured the company with a brief chanty running. “Got it?—No, I ain't, 'old on,—Got it? Got it?—No, 'old on sir.”

5. (idiomatic) To remain loyal.

   He didn't give up his fandom when others did; he held on.

6. (idiomatic) To persist.
   • 1723, Jonathan Swift, Some Arguments Against Enlarging the Power of Bishops:

     This trade held on for many years.

   • 2010 December 29, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC:

     That scare aside, Wolves had little trouble in holding on for their first league away win of the season and their first over the Reds since little-known striker Steve Mardenborough gave them a victory at Anfield in January 1984.

Usage notes

The phrasal verb hold on is intransitive, but the phrasal verb hold on to is transitive.

Synonyms

• (grasp or grip firmly): belock, hold tight; See also Thesaurus:grasp
• (store something for someone): keep, store
• (wait a short while): cool one's heels, hang on; See also Thesaurus:wait
• (stay loyal): keep faith
• (persist): go on, last, remain; See also Thesaurus:persist

Related terms

• hang on
• hold up
• on hold

Translations

wait a minute

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 且慢 (zh) (qiěmàn)

• Dutch: wachten (nl)
• Finnish: odottaa (fi)
• German: warten (de)
• Hungarian: vár (hu) (egy kicsit: a minute)
• Italian: aspettare un po', aspettare un attimo, aspettare un momento, aspettare un istante, attendere (it)
• Japanese: ちょっと待つ (chotto matsu)
• Polish: czekać (pl)
• Portuguese: esperar um pouco
• Russian: подождать (ru) (podoždatʹ), повременить (ru) (povremenitʹ)
• Spanish: aguantar (es), bancar (es)
• Tagalog: sandali (tl)
• Thai: ช้าก่อน (th) (cháa-gɔ̀ɔn)

to hold, grasp, or grip

• Dutch: vasthouden (nl)
• Esperanto: alteniĝi
• Finnish: pitää kiinni
• French: s’accrocher (fr)
• Hungarian: kapaszkodik (hu), megkapaszkodik (hu), belekapaszkodik (hu)
• Italian: tenersi (it), aggrapparsi
• Russian: держаться (ru) (deržatʹsja)
• Tagalog: hawak
• Turkish: tutunmak (tr)

to keep; to store something for someone

• Finnish: säilyttää (fi)
• French: garder (fr)
• Hungarian: vigyáz (hu)
• Italian: tenere (it), conservare (it)
• Russian: подержать (ru) (poderžatʹ)
• Tagalog: pahawak, pabantay, patago

stay loyal

• Finnish: pysyä lujana
• Hungarian: kitart (mellette)

Anagrams

• on hold, onhold