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Glite Dictionary
⏳ To delay 🛡️ To resist
to hold off

to hold off

78 4.0
To stop an opponent from moving forward by keeping your position
  • phrasal verb
  • /hoʊld ɔf/
: contener
  • Despite the fierce battle, the defenders managed to hold off the attackers for several hours.
  • hold off the enemy
  • hold off attacks
  • hold off an assault

Examples

Synonyms

to hang on
vsto hold off
  • Informal
445 3.4

To wait a short time or keep going through a hard time

stays in place and prevents opponents from succeeding throughout the struggle
to hold out
vsto hold off
194 3.7

To refuse to give up until you get what you want

stays in place until the opponent is prevented or defeated
to hold back
vsto hold off
141 3.2

Stop someone or something from moving forward

stays in place to resist and stop an opponent's advance until the end
to fight off
vsto hold off
94 3.7

To keep away an attack, illness, or strong unwanted feeling

keeps position and prevents enemy success over the whole fight
to fend off
vsto hold off
41 3.9

Keep unwanted people or things away so they do not harm you

stays in place to prevent an opponent advancing until the end
to head off
vsto hold off
36 4.8

Stop something from happening by acting early

keeps position and resists opponent advancing during confrontation
to stave off
vsto hold off
30 6.4

To stop something bad from happening for a while

stays firm to prevent an opponent from succeeding completely rather than only delay
to hold the line
vsto hold off
22 5.4

To refuse to change a decision or rule under pressure

stays in place to stop opponents advancing until the end
to beat off
vsto hold off
  • Informal
11 8.1

Make animals or people who attack you go away

remains in place to stop opponents gaining ground until finished

Antonyms

to allow
∞ 1.0

To let something happen or let someone do something

to yield
74 4.3

To stop resisting under pressure or force

How Resistant

to defeat
704 2.1
to hold off
78 4.0
to drive back
21 4.1
to repel
50 4.2
to fend off
41 3.9

Surface Forms

hold off infinitive
holding off present participle
holds off third person singular
held off past
held off past participle

Morphology

hold + off

The meaning 'to resist and prevent an opponent from succeeding or advancing' is directly derivable from combining 'hold' (to restrain or keep) with 'off' (away, at a distance), yielding the sense 'keep at bay' or 'repel'. This follows a common English phrasal-verb composition that is cross-linguistically transparent, so an average B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The phrasal verb hold off comes from the image of keeping attackers at a distance: hold means 'keep' and off means 'away'. When people keep enemies back like that, they 'hold off' the attack, so the phrase means 'to resist' or 'to stop someone from advancing'.