informal
: hold
usually used in phrases like get ahold of to mean "take hold of," "get possession of," "get in contact with," etc.
It took me a long time to learn that success is not such a fabulous goal. It's like air—you can't get ahold of it.Kristin McMurran
An eleven-year-old boy … gets ahold of a million dollars in laundered money and goes on a spending spree.The New Yorker
… if you could get ahold of a representative …Norman Mailer
I picture him now reading this, and long to reach out of the page and grab ahold of his shirt front …Mary Karr

Examples of ahold in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web According to the video, Bennetts then tells the man to grab ahold of the disc. Antonio Planas, NBC News, 19 Jan. 2024 The practice involves free-falling while taking ahold of other skydivers to create shapes, all while falling at speeds of around 120 mph for at least 60 seconds. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 20 July 2023 And Larson and Vogt’s work provides a recipe of sorts for getting ahold of these central but elusive mathematical objects. Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 25 Aug. 2022 That way, if someone gets ahold of your personal ID, future meetings won’t be disrupted by Zoombombers. Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2020 The easy part is getting ahold of a couple antlers and some deer scent and then essentially having the option to train in any environment (backyards and living rooms included). Tony J. Peterson, Outdoor Life, 24 Feb. 2020 Mommy loves you! Swipe to see how cute the cake was before Jake got ahold of it! Rebekah Lowin, Country Living, 26 Jan. 2020 For starters, Haley Joy, Hoda's baby girl, got ahold of a flag and looked adorable as ever proudly waving it at her fellow partygoers. Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, 5 July 2018 The media got ahold of the story, and theories weren’t far behind. Matt Blitz, Popular Mechanics, 24 Sep. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ahold.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

probably from the phrase a hold

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ahold was in 1850

Dictionary Entries Near ahold

Cite this Entry

“Ahold.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ahold. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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