Definition of Hold out

1. Verb. Thrust or extend out. "The bee exserted its sting"

Exact synonyms: Exsert, Extend, Put Out, Stretch Forth, Stretch Out
Specialized synonyms: Hyperextend
Generic synonyms: Gesticulate, Gesture, Motion
Derivative terms: Extendible, Extensible, Extensor

2. Verb. Stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something.

3. Verb. Last and be usable. "The sheets didn't hold out"; "This dress wore well for almost ten years"
Exact synonyms: Endure, Wear
Generic synonyms: Endure, Last
Derivative terms: Wearable

4. Verb. Wait uncompromisingly for something desirable. "They hold out a long time"; "He held out for the dessert and did not touch the cheeses"
Generic synonyms: Hold Back, Hold Off, Wait
Derivative terms: Holdout, Holdout

5. Verb. Continue to live through hardship or adversity. "The business is going to hold out "; "How long can a person last without food and water?"
Exact synonyms: Endure, Go, Hold Up, Last, Live, Live On, Survive
Entails: Be, Live
Related verbs: Be, Live, Exist, Live, Subsist, Survive
Specialized synonyms: Hold Up, Hold Water, Stand Up, Perennate, Live Out
Derivative terms: Endurance, Survival

Definition of Hold out

1. Verb. (transitive) To hold (something) out; to extend (something) forward. ¹

2. Verb. (idiomatic often with ''for'') To wait, or refuse in hopes of getting something better (from a negotiation, etc.) ¹

3. Verb. (idiomatic) To survive, endure. ¹

4. Verb. (idiomatic usually with ''on'') To withhold something. ¹

5. Verb. (transitive) To set something aside or save it for later. ¹

6. Noun. (alternative spelling of holdout). ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Hold Out

hold off
hold on
hold one's breath
hold one's head above water
hold one's head high
hold one's horses
hold one's liquor
hold one's nerve
hold one's own
hold one's pee
hold one's tongue
hold one's urine
hold one's water
hold open
hold out (current term)
hold outs
hold over
hold over someone's head
hold serve
hold someone's feet to the fire
hold someone's hand
hold still for
hold sway
hold that thought
hold the cards
hold the fort
hold the line
hold the phone
hold the purse strings

Literary usage of Hold out

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant: Embracing English, American, and Anglo by Albert Barrère, Charles Godfrey Leland (1889)
"Then there was the sleeve hold-out, nearly as bad, and the different hold-outs to fasten to the edge of the table.—Slur. Hold the stage, to (theatrical), ..."

2. The Dictionary of National Biography by Sidney Lee (1908)
"Russia seemed to hold out the highest inducements, and, furnished with very strong recommendations to Sir James Harris, he arrived at St. Petersburg in May ..."

3. Publications by English Dialect Society (1850)
"... looking upon themselves undone, seeme desperately resolved to hold out to the last, tho sencible they cannot abide it," adds, " but, however, ..."

4. South Eastern Reporter by West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, West Publishing Company, South Carolina Supreme Court (1910)
"To permit this would be to allow the surety to perpetrate a fraud, to hold out a bond as In force, and on that basis secure the advantage derivable from a ..."

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