to hold forth
5
7.4
- phrasal verb
- /hoʊld fɔrθ/
- Someone will hold forth solemnly on how everything happens for a reason.
- hold forth to people
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Watch on YouTubeAnd then he says, I'm not going to hold forth literally, you know, make a dissertation on ethics.
- And then he says, I'm not going to hold forth literally, you know, make a dissertation on ethics.
Examples
-
Let us look upon the single woman who holds forth as a teacher...
Fiction book (1993) -
As she headed along the sidewalk toward Paragon, she could hear Ned holding forth on why the federal government liked wolves.
Fiction book (1998) -
But though he rarely held forth on great issues, all his writing is shot through with intelligent reflection.
Academic text (2009) -
Apparently, he was to hold forth for the edification of the faculty and their colleagues at neighboring institutions.
Fiction book (2002) -
Then she held forth at length about the marvels of their new "automatic" or "electronic" laundry.
Fiction book (1993) -
Even Reynolds, an expert questioner, couldn't get her to hold forth.
Academic text (2011) -
After a few shots of the especially vile whiskey brewed by Black Jack himself, Neal began to hold forth.
-
With fanatical zeal and hostility, he frequently held forth on the revolution and the freedom of mankind.
Fiction book (1998) -
During the conference, the scholar held forth about the importance of climate change awareness.
-
At the town hall meeting, several residents held forth about their ideas for improving the community.
Synonyms
∞
3.4
Give a speech to an audience about a subject
∞
3.2
To give a formal talk to a group of people
35
2.8
Give a formal talk to people at a public or special event
29
4.2
To state something clearly in writing or speech
1
7.8
To speak or write for a long time about a topic
1
6.1
Keep speaking for a long time in a meeting so others cannot speak
To speak or write at length about a subject in a formal way
To end a formal speech with a long, strong summary
Antonyms
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'hold' (express an opinion) and 'forth' (outward) do suggest projecting or putting something out into view, so a learner could infer a sense of expressing something publicly. However, the conventionalized meaning 'to speak at length, often formally or authoritatively' is a somewhat idiomatic and somewhat archaic extension not fully predictable from the parts, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Hold forth may come from the image of a person who holds their ideas forth, putting them out for everyone to hear like a speaker showing something to a crowd. So the phrase means 'to speak at length'.