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Glite Dictionary
to hold that thought

to hold that thought

21 6.7
Ask someone to wait before saying more about an idea
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : guardar esa idea
  • Ask your child to hold that thought, quickly finish what you are doing, and give him or her your full attention.
  • Just hold that thought
  • OK, hold that thought
  • hold that thought for a moment

Why would they be doing that now if not, hold that thought.

Examples

Synonyms

to hold on
vsto hold that thought
  • Informal
∞ 1.3

To wait for a short time during a phone call

asks to pause an idea now and return to it later
to pause
vsto hold that thought
346 1.0

Stop for a short time before continuing

asks a speaker to stop temporarily so discussion can resume
to take a moment
vsto hold that thought
98 3.4

Stop for a short time to think, rest or remember something

asks someone to pause their idea now until discussion returns to it
to hold on a second
vsto hold that thought
  • Informal
75 1.2

Ask someone to wait for a short time

asks for a pause intended to continue the same idea later
to hold the phone
vsto hold that thought
  • Informal
8 8.2

Tell someone to wait so you can check or explain something

asks for a brief pause so the idea can be resumed later
to bench this idea
vsto hold that thought
  • US
7.6

Delay talking about an idea until later

asks for a short pause intended to resume the idea soon

Antonyms

to continue
∞ 1.0

To keep doing something without stopping

Surface Forms

hold that thought infinitive
holding that thought present participle
holds that thought third person singular
held that thought past
held that thought past participle

Morphology

hold + that + thought

The phrase literally instructs someone to 'keep' or 'pause' the specified idea: 'hold' = keep/pause, 'that' = the referenced idea, 'thought' = idea. A B1 learner who knows these words can readily infer the request to temporarily suspend discussing the idea, so the expression is compositional and immediately understandable.

Etymology

Hold that thought comes from the image of putting a thought aside and choosing to hold it in your mind like a small object while you do something else. So, it means 'pause your idea for a short time'.