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Glite Dictionary
to hold the phone

to hold the phone

8 8.2
Tell someone to wait so you can check or explain something
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : espera un momento
  • Oh, wait, hold the phone, ladies and gentlemen.

And I was like, hold the phone like this is it for me?

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Examples

  • Whoa, hold the phone there.

    Blog text (2)

  • Hold the phone a second.

    Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)

  • And I was like, hold the phone like this is it for me?

    Sarah Rae Vargas

  • Come on, man, hold the phone on that.

    Creed II (2018)

  • Hold the phone, folks, some dude on the net thinks he's better than everyone else.

    Blog text (20)

  • My daughter was on Instagram live like recording and her comments are like, can you please hold the phone, hold it straight, whoever is holding the camera.

  • - Hold the phone.

    Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (2019)

  • Hold the phone!

    Blog text (10)

  • LOOK, LET'S JUST HOLD THE PHONE A SECOND.

    Death to Smoochy (2002)

  • Oh, wait, hold the phone, ladies and gentlemen.

Synonyms

to wait
vsto hold the phone
∞ 1.0

To stay in one place or delay action until something happens

is a quick pause used to allow checking or to rethink now
to hold
vsto hold the phone
∞ 1.3

To keep something for someone to use later

asks specifically for a short pause to allow checking or reconsideration
to hold on
vsto hold the phone
  • Informal
∞ 1.3

To wait for a short time during a phone call

is used to pause so something can be checked or reconsidered
to hang on
vsto hold the phone
  • Informal
362 3.0

To stay on the phone and wait

is used to pause speech to reconsider or allow verification
to pause
vsto hold the phone
346 1.0

Stop for a short time before continuing

is specifically used to ask someone to wait while something is checked
to hold up
vsto hold the phone
90 2.8

To cause a delay in plans or progress

is used to request a deliberate short pause for checking or thought
to hold off
vsto hold the phone
78 3.8

To wait before doing something

is more about an immediate pause for checking or reconsideration
to hold on a second
vsto hold the phone
  • Informal
75 1.2

Ask someone to wait for a short time

asks to pause specifically to reconsider or allow checking
to hold off on
vsto hold the phone
37 4.2

To wait before doing something

asks for a short pause mainly to check or reconsider now
to hold that thought
vsto hold the phone
  • Informal
21 6.7

Ask someone to wait before saying more about an idea

asks to stop briefly to allow checking or to rethink rather than resume later
to stay on the line
vsto hold the phone
18 3.0

To remain connected by phone while you wait for help

focuses on pausing to allow time for reconsideration or checking
to hold the line
vsto hold the phone
14 3.7

To wait on the phone without hanging up

serves the same telephone waiting purpose but asks for checking or thought
to hold one's horses
vsto hold the phone
  • Informal
1 7.2

Tell someone to wait and be patient

asks for a brief pause mainly to reconsider or verify something

Antonyms

to hang up
405 2.5

End a phone call by putting the phone down

to disconnect
161 3.5

To separate something so it is no longer joined, for example remove a cable or turn off power

How Long

to wait
∞ 1.0
to hold the phone
  • Informal
8 8.2
to hold on
  • Informal
∞ 1.3
just a minute
198 1.0
to hold on a second
  • Informal
75 1.2

Surface Forms

hold the phone infinitive
held the phone past
held the phone past participle
holding the phone present participle
holds the phone third person singular

Morphology

hold + the + phone

The sense 'wait/pause' is partly derivable from 'hold' (keep/reserve) and 'phone' (the device) because telling someone to hold the phone historically asks them to keep the line — so a learner could infer a pause/waiting function. However, the usage is colloquial and pragmatically reduced (and can be misread as a literal instruction to grasp a phone), so the specific idiomatic interjectional sense is not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Hold the phone may come from old telephone days when the person answering would ask a caller to hold the phone while they checked something, keeping the call waiting. That's why it now means 'to wait' or 'pause'.