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Glite Dictionary
to hold one's nerve

to hold one's nerve

5.5
To stay calm and in control during a difficult situation
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : mantener la calma
  • When faced with criticism, it's important to hold your nerve and stay confident in your abilities.

Examples

  • - Hold your nerve.

    Knights of the Damned (2017)

  • I need you to hold your nerve.

    Venom (2018)

  • And to hold their nerve and cool and enjoy it, and perform, it's a big, big ask.

    One Direction: This Is Us (2013)

  • Little uneven but hold your nerve.

    Men (2022)

  • Hold your nerve, boys!

    War Horse (2011)

  • Hold your nerve.

    The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)

  • At 6-4, the comeback looked to be on the cards, but Marsh held his nerve to close out the match 8-4 and reached his first major IPA final as a professional.

    Blog text (30)

  • During the challenging interview, she needed to hold her nerve to answer each question calmly.

  • In the final moments of the game, he managed to hold his nerve and scored the winning goal.

Synonyms

to stay in control
vsto hold one's nerve
  • US
264 3.7

Keep power over a situation and stay calm

emphasizes emotional calm rather than maintaining external authority
to pull oneself together
vsto hold one's nerve
  • Informal
81 5.1

Get control of your feelings and calm down after being upset

is ongoing calm control rather than a brief recovery from upset
to hold it together
vsto hold one's nerve
  • Informal
61 5.6

Stay calm and control your feelings in a difficult situation

is about calm control under stress rather than only preventing breakdown
to get a grip
vsto hold one's nerve
  • Informal
56 5.6

To calm down and control your feelings

is steady calm control rather than a sudden recovery of composure
to keep one's cool
vsto hold one's nerve
  • Informal
30 3.4

Stay calm and control your feelings when things are hard

is steady calm and composed control during difficult or stressful moments
to keep it together
vsto hold one's nerve
  • Informal
27 5.4

To stay calm and control your feelings in a difficult situation

focuses on ongoing calm control not just regaining composure after upset
to play it cool
vsto hold one's nerve
  • Informal
27 4.5

Act calm and relaxed to hide nervousness

is internal steady calm rather than a public or deliberate act
to keep a cool head
vsto hold one's nerve
3 3.9

Stay calm and not get angry or excited in a difficult situation

is about composed control under pressure rather than only avoiding anger
to keep one's temper
vsto hold one's nerve
1 4.4

Stay calm and not get angry in a difficult situation

is broader calm control over all emotions not limited to anger

Antonyms

to freak out
  • Informal
430 6.8

To become very upset or afraid suddenly and lose control

to panic
272 2.3

To feel sudden fear and lose the ability to think or act calmly

How Calm

to hold one's nerve
  • Informal
5.5
to keep one's cool
  • Informal
30 3.4

Surface Forms

hold one's nerve infinitive
holding one's nerve present participle
holds one's nerve third person singular
held one's nerve past
held one's nerve past participle

Morphology

hold + one's + nerve

The verb 'hold' (to keep/maintain) combined with 'nerve' (courage) yields a directly interpretable meaning of maintaining one’s courage or calm. This compositional reading follows normal English possession and control patterns and is likely obvious to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Hold one's nerve may come from the idea that 'nerve' means 'courage'. Imagine you hold a tight rope called the nerve so you do not let go and panic. That's why it means 'to stay calm and in control'.