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Glite Dictionary
to hold up your end

to hold up your end

8 5.8
Do your share of the work in a group
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : cumplir con tu parte
  • Are you holding up your end of the bargain?
  • hold up your end of the bargain
  • hold up your end of the deal
  • hold up your end now

You've got to make sure you hold up your end of the bargain and show that appreciation.

Examples

  • We've held up our end of the deal.

    Chicken Run (2000)

  • You've got to make sure you hold up your end of the bargain and show that appreciation.

    Stephan Speaks

  • You got to hold up your end now.

    Donnie Brasco (1997)

  • You gotta hold up your end.

    Vampire Assassin (2005)

  • So you should be concerned if you are not holding up your end of your group participation, OK?

  • Thank you for holding up your end of the bargain.

    Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)

  • All right, well, you held up your end of the bargain, so I guess I will hold up mine.

    The DUFF (2015)

  • If you hold up your end of the discussion, people on the other side will definitely hold up theirs.

    Blog text (28)

  • You definitely held up your end, Mr. Kincaid.

    The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)

  • In this project, everyone must hold up your end to ensure its success.

Synonyms

to pull one's weight
vsto hold up your end
  • Informal
20 3.9

To do your fair share of work in a group

emphasizes meeting shared responsibilities in a task or agreement
to hold up one's end of the bargain
vsto hold up your end
  • Informal
7 4.4

Do what you promised in an agreement

is the shorter, more general phrase for the same action
to keep a promise
vsto hold up your end
5 2.5

Do what you say you will do for someone

focuses on sharing duties with others rather than single commitments
to keep one's end up
vsto hold up your end
  • UK
1 7.4

Continue doing your part for the team when things are hard

focuses on meeting the part in general, not only in hardship

Antonyms

to abandon
773 3.1

Leave someone or something behind permanently and without care

to neglect
256 3.8

Fail to care for someone or something you should look after

How Reliable

to hold up your end
  • Informal
8 5.8
to fall short
64 3.9

Surface Forms

hold up your end infinitive
holding up your end present participle
holds up your end third person singular
held up your end past
held up your end past participle

Morphology

hold + up + your + end

The component 'end' (= one's share or duty) is transparent and 'hold up' can be interpreted as 'support' or 'maintain', so the overall sense 'maintain/fulfill your part' is partly derivable from the parts. However, 'hold up' is polysemous in English (e.g. delay, rob, support) and the phrasal-verb use here is idiomatic enough that many B1 learners would need prior exposure to be fully confident of the intended meaning.

Etymology

The phrasal verb hold up your end comes from the picture of people carrying a long table or beam together. If someone does not hold up their end, the table will fall, so the phrase means 'to do your part' in a shared task.