HOLD ON

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does hold on mean? 

• HOLD ON (verb)
  The verb HOLD ON has 5 senses:

1. hold firmly

2. stop and wait, as if awaiting further instructions or developments

3. be persistent, refuse to stop

4. hold the phone line open

5. retain possession of

  Familiarity information: HOLD ON used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HOLD ON (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hold firmly

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

grasp; hold on

Hypernyms (to "hold on" is one way to...):

hold; take hold (have or hold in one's hands or grip)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hold on"):

latch on (take hold of or attach to)

cling; hang (hold on tightly or tenaciously)

clasp (hold firmly and tightly)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Stop and wait, as if awaiting further instructions or developments

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

hold on; stop

Context example:

Hold on a moment!

Hypernyms (to "hold on" is one way to...):

break; interrupt (terminate)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be persistent, refuse to stop

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

hang in; hang on; hold on; persevere; persist

Context example:

The child persisted and kept asking questions

Hypernyms (to "hold on" is one way to...):

bear on; carry on; continue; preserve; uphold (keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hold on"):

obstinate (persist stubbornly)

ask for it; ask for trouble (persist with actions or an attitude despite the probability that it will cause trouble)

plug; plug away (persist in working hard)

follow; stick to; stick with (keep to)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Hold the phone line open

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

hang on; hold on; hold the line

Context example:

Please hang on while I get your folder

Hypernyms (to "hold on" is one way to...):

await; expect; look; wait (look forward to the probable occurrence of)

"Hold on" entails doing...:

call; call up; phone; ring; telephone (get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone)

Domain category:

telephone; telephony (transmitting speech at a distance)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 5

Meaning:

Retain possession of

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

hold on; keep

Context example:

She kept her maiden name after she married

Hypernyms (to "hold on" is one way to...):

have; have got; hold (have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense)

Verb group:

hold open; keep; keep open; save (retain rights to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hold on"):

carry over; hold over (hold over goods to be sold for the next season)

deny; refuse (refuse to let have)

deduct; recoup; withhold (retain and refrain from disbursing; of payments)

preserve; save (to keep up and reserve for personal or special use)

hive away; lay in; put in; salt away; stack away; stash away; store (keep or lay aside for future use)

store (find a place for and put away for storage)

hold; hold back; keep back; retain (secure and keep for possible future use or application)

harbor; harbour (keep in one's possession; of animals)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

 Context examples 

The weasel let go the cub and flashed at the she-wolf's throat, missing, but getting a hold on the jaw instead.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

We thought it best to hold on the same course, rather than turn more northerly, which might have brought us to the north-west part of Great Tartary, and into the Frozen Sea.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Hold on to that thought, for before you feel the full force of the love aspects that are sparkling for you, you have other opportunities coming up.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Hold on, don’t go yet.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

You hold on to him, and you may kiss the book that he’ll haul you through.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“You should hold on until the last moment in the hope of your man turning up.”

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You always were a comfort, Teddy, and Jo leaned her head on his shoulder, just as she did years ago, when Beth lay ill and Laurie told her to hold on to him.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I shuddered as he spoke: I felt his influence in my marrow—his hold on my limbs.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The cells don't know if things are going to get better or worse, so they hold on to some survival molecules just in case.

(Cells Back from Brink of Death, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Well, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, you may look for your tramp, and while you are finding him we will hold on to our man.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)