holding

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈhəʊldɪŋ/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈhoʊldɪŋ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(hōl′ding)

From the verb hold: (⇒ conjugate)
holding is: ⓘClick the infinitive to see all available inflections
v pres p

Collocations for "holding"


Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "holding" in context.

WordReference English Collocations © 2025

hold

ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.
v
  1. hold [his, her mother's] hand
  2. [are, were] holding hands
  3. hold hands with him
  4. held me [close, in his arms]
  5. holding it in [her hands, the palm of your hand]
  6. hold onto [the handle, your hat]
  7. hold down the [robber, patient]
  8. hold down your [drink, food]
  9. held up [a bank, the store]
  10. hold up your [hand, hands]
  11. hold my [coffee, phone]
  12. hold (it) [still, in place]
  13. hold back your [emotion, ability, anger]
  14. [nothing, she] is holding me back
  15. hold your position against the [enemy, shooter]
  16. hold off on the [decision, plan, proposal]
  17. hold on for the [ride, win]
  18. hold on for [your, dear] life
  19. hold on!
  20. hold on a [minute, moment]
  21. hold on (for) a [little, while] longer
  22. hold off the [enemy]
  23. hold out against the [enemy]
  24. hold out (any) hope
  25. hold out for [help, rescue]
  26. hold your own against
  27. hold your ground
  28. hold up [the trophy, your hand, a sign]
  29. hold [the trophy] up
  30. hold a [position, office]
  31. hold a [party, meeting, conference, fundraiser]
  32. hold [an election, a vote]
  33. [grab, press] and hold
  34. hold fast to the [side, pole, rope]
  35. hold up the [line, bus, class, investigation]
  36. hold the [line] up
  37. was held up [by, in] traffic
  38. [unable, able, failed] to hold down a job
  39. asked me to hold
  40. please hold (on)
  41. hold a (high) note
  42. the [glue, gel, silicon] didn't hold
  43. (try to) hold it together
  44. held [her, the suspect] for questioning
  45. held (them) to ransom
  46. the [bottle, container] holds [2 liters]
  47. the [arena, stadium] holds [50,000 people]
  48. holds the [key to, secret of]
  49. (story) doesn't hold water
  50. hold your horses
n
  1. a [tight, strong] hold
  2. has a [tight] hold on the [population, election]
  3. [had, kept] a [tight] hold of [his hand, the railing]
  4. [loosened, tightened] her hold on
  5. his hold [loosened]
  6. had a hold over [her, his rival, the population]
  7. [keep, take, grab, get] hold (of)
  8. had him in a [choke, strangle] hold
  9. [toe, foot, finger] holds
  10. no holds barred
  11. cannot get hold of her
  12. trying to get hold of you all day
  13. trying to get a hold on [whether, how, who]
  14. could not get hold of him [over the phone, through email]
  15. put a hold on his [account, credit card]
  16. the [plan, visit, sale] was put on hold
  17. put the caller on hold
  18. get a hold of yourself!
  19. get a hold of [her anger, his emotions]
  20. in the [ship's, airplane's, cargo, luggage] hold
  21. the hold of the [ship]
  22. [stow, store, put] your luggage in the (ship's) hold
  23. the [cases, boxes, suitcases] were stored in the hold
n as adj
  1. a no-holds-barred fight
  2. hold [luggage, baggage]
'holding' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
auction - bag - balcony - balloon - barely - barn - batch - bay - cell - concurrent - conference - delay - escape - fort - grip - gun - hold - hostage - intervention - kitty - knife - latch - lose - majority - meet - neighbor - numb - open - parade - penalty - premier - ransom - reunion - support - suspect - thread - tight - tray - welcome

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