hold off

verb

held off; holding off; holds off
Synonyms of hold offnext

transitive verb

1
: to block from an objective : delay
2
: to defer action on : postpone
hold off a decision
3
: to fight to a standoff : withstand

intransitive verb

: to defer or temporarily stop doing something

Synonyms of hold off

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of hold off in a Sentence

we held off on accepting the invitation in the hopes that something better would come along
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
One zealous teenage Werewolf could, in theory, hold off a hundred Americans. — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026 Trump has continued to demand lower rates, leading some to infer Warsh is holding off raising rates until after the November midterm election to unleash his hawkish impulses. — Matt Peterson, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026 Northwestern coming from behind to beat Nebraska 31-28 in 2022, Georgia Tech beating Florida State on a walk-off field goal 24-21 in 2024 and Iowa State holding off Kansas State 24-21 in 2025. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026 Russell started fast and never looked back to both hold off Amusan and rewrite the record. — ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hold off

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hold off was in the 15th century

Rhymes for hold off

See All Rhymes for hold off

Browse Nearby Words

hold no terror(s)
hold off
hold off on
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hold off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hold%20off. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

hold off

verb
1
: to keep away : withstand
held off the attack
2
: postpone, delay
decided to hold off on the decision
will hold off production for the summer
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All