to hold together
90
3.4
- phrasal verb
- /hoʊld təˈɡɛðər/
:
mantener unidos (transitivo)
- And if anyone can hold the nation together, he can.
- glue that holds together
- hold a community together
- bonds that hold together
And So what holds us together, that's part of it.
- And So what holds us together, that's part of it.
- Solar system is held together by by gravity.
- speak to the stuff that holds everything together. You communicate
- It should, however, at least be strongly bound and hold together reasonably well.
- If you hold those two statements together, you understand.
- So A sticks to TG sticks to C and they're held together by hydrogen bonds.
- What are the things you do that hold you together?
- And I've been holding this together myself.
- They thought whatever they thought, they were holding me together to get to my brother's bedside.
Examples
-
I'm barely holding it together.
-
It's been quite a journey this decade, and we held together through some stormy seas.
Fiction book (2000) -
I was just trying to hold this thing together.
-
- I hold this family together.
-
And through that joy, she held the community together for a long time.
-
- I'm trying to hold it together.
-
Yeah, but will the car hold together for the remaining three laps?
-
Someone once said to me that a newsletter is the glue that holds a camera club together.
Academic text (1999) -
Islam provided a useful mechanism by which to hold the clans together.
Academic text (2008) -
She has worked hard to hold together the team during these difficult times.
Synonyms
140
2.1
Remain close and loyal to each other during hard times
133
2.7
Stay together and help each other during hard times
33
3.4
To join others to support the same cause
3
6.2
To stick together to form one unit, like parts of a machine or ideas in a plan
2
3.9
Make people or groups work closely together as one
2
4.1
To stay united and help each other in hard times
Antonyms
How United
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to keep parts or people united' is directly derivable from combining 'hold' (to support or keep) with 'together' (in a united manner); the phrase simply expresses maintaining unity rather than an idiosyncratic idiom. This verb + particle composition is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The verb hold together comes from a simple image: imagine using your hands to hold broken parts together or tying them with tape so they do not fall apart. So it now means 'to stay united' or 'to keep parts or people from coming apart'.