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Glite Dictionary
to hold up to

to hold up to

5 4.1
Be as good as people expect
  • phrasal verb
  • /hoʊld ʌp tu/
translation icon : cumplir con
  • I wonder how this fabric will hold up to repeated washing and drying.
  • hold up to scrutiny

Like all my thoughts don't hold up to the prospect of imminent death.

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Examples

  • Can popular music hold up to intense inspection and analysis by classical musicians?

    Academic text (2011)

  • Let's see if that actually holds up to further scrutiny.

    Academic text (2013)

  • On the surface, these policy arguments seem compelling, but they fail to hold up to scrutiny.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The general relationships it postulates between the concepts may not hold up to closer scrutiny.

    Academic text (2007)

  • If anything, I'm impressed with how well Ridley's book has held up to scrutiny more than anything else.

    Blog text (14)

  • The notion that race or ethnicity explains all urban dynamics just doesn't hold up to close scrutiny.

    Blog text (6)

  • Many of Sigmund Freud's ideas don't hold up to modern science, and his clinical practices don't meet today's ethical standards.

  • The equipment is very durable and should hold up to years of heavy use.

  • We need to test if the new software holds up to our performance expectations.

Synonyms

to live up to
vsto hold up to
224 3.5

To meet what people expect of you

is used more for meeting general quality rather than fulfilling duties or promises
to measure up
vsto hold up to
  • Informal
39 3.7

To be as good as expected or needed

is about meeting promised quality or specific expectations rather than general adequacy
to measure up to
vsto hold up to
17 3.8

To be good enough to meet a standard or expectation

is broader, meaning meet expectations in general rather than a specific level

Antonyms

to fail
∞ 1.0

Not do something you promised or should do

to disappoint
492 1.0

Fail to do what someone hoped for

How Good

to exceed
255 4.1
to hold up to
5 4.1
to meet
660 1.3
to fall short
64 3.9

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

hold + up + to

There is a partial connection between the parts and the overall meaning: 'hold' (maintain/keep) plus the particle 'up' and the preposition 'to' suggests maintaining or standing up against a standard, so learners who know the words may infer a sense of 'withstand' or 'meet'. However, the exact meaning 'be as good as expected' relies on a phrasal-verb + preposition pattern and is not fully predictable — it can be confused with other uses of 'hold up' (e.g. delay/rob) or with 'live up to', so a B1 learner would not reliably derive it without exposure.

Etymology

The phrase hold up to may come from the simple image of a person or a beam using strength to hold something up so it does not fall when weight or force is put on it. So when something 'holds up to' a test or 'meets the required standards or expectations', it means it does not fail under pressure.