hold off

verb

held off; holding off; holds off

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

• defer
• delay
• hold over
• hold up
• lay over
• postpone
• put off
• put over
• remit
• shelve

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

The brokerage also pointed to uncertainty around the government’s fiscal support for households as a potential factor that might prompt the BOJ to hold off its rate increase. —Lin Lin, CNBC, 16 Dec. 2024

Salah used his strength to hold off a defender before executing a perfect outside-of-the-foot pass that curled perfectly into the path of his team-mate. —Andy Jones, The Athletic, 15 Dec. 2024

The bankers association was not so sanguine, saying the bureau should have held off until the Trump administration takes over. —Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024

Some companies may even be holding off on big changes, hoping a friendlier White House will tilt the scale back in their favor. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

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

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