to hold out
139
3.7
- phrasal verb
- /hoʊld aʊt/
:
resistir
- People in narcissistic relationships hold out hope until they no longer can.
- hold out hope
- strikers hold out
- manage to hold out
The first thing, I mean, I I still hold out some measure of hope.
- The first thing, I mean, I I still hold out some measure of hope.
- At least with the slot machine, you are holding out for a big prize.
- Or do I hold out to get someone who's even better?
- To be discerning is to hold out for quality.
- And we encourage girls and guys who watch us to just hold out and to wait.
- For a while, she still held out hope that she might live on her own, but she didn't.
- So I, I held out for the amount of money that I was making on Buffy.
- So I was holding out thinking he'll fold, he'll fold, he'll give me what I want.
- I'm very tempted by an overpriced bottle of Astronaut Envy, but I think I hold out for the Moon Cheese Deluxe.
- And I think it stops people who feel like they are holding out for someone to like change their mind.
- I've been to their school and they're trying to change the statue and the school's holding out against that.
- And with this reality, I can't see many of the Apple holdouts holding out for much longer.
Examples
-
In doing so, they assert their individual autonomy and hold out hope for a better future.
Academic text (1995) -
I couldn't hold out any longer.
-
And we encourage girls and guys who watch us to just hold out and to wait.
-
And I think it stops people who feel like they are holding out for someone to like change their mind.
-
So they'd all been holding out hope that their family was OK.
-
For a while, she still held out hope that she might live on her own, but she didn't.
-
I tell myself that I can't hold out forever
-
While her friends married and produced their first children, she'd held out for Zeke and somehow won him.
Fiction book (1999) -
They know the longer they can hold out, the greater their chance of galvanising Irish and world opinion to the cause of independence.
-
She held out against peer pressure, determined to stay true to her values.
Synonyms
311
2.2
Act against authority, rules or change
173
3.3
To keep trying and not give up when things are hard
167
3.6
To keep trying and not give up when things are hard
122
4.2
To resist strong or harmful force without breaking
62
3.7
To keep doing something or keep holding a belief despite difficulty
55
4.0
To stop an opponent from moving forward by keeping your position
46
3.3
To continue doing something and refuse to give up
25
5.7
To keep your position when others disagree
22
3.7
Keep your decision or opinion when others try to make you change
20
4.1
To keep doing something even when it is difficult or people disagree
11
5.5
To stay firmly attached to something or keep believing strongly in an idea
9
4.5
To refuse to change your opinion or decision despite pressure
8
5.4
To refuse to change a decision or rule under pressure
6
4.9
To continue in a difficult situation until the end
4
6.4
Refuse to change your mind when others disagree
2
4.4
Keep the same decision even when others disagree
2
7.9
To keep the same opinion or decision and not change it
Antonyms
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to last' can be partly inferred from 'hold' (to remain/keep) with 'out' suggesting extension or continuation, so a learner who knows both words may guess a durability/continuation sense. However, the particle 'out' does not transparently encode duration and the phrasal verb has other senses (e.g. offer, resist), so the exact meaning is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Hold out may come from the image of people inside a building during an attack, holding their position and keeping the enemy out. That's why it means 'to refuse to give in' or to keep resisting.