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 Mercury managed to hold off Breanna Stewart’s 35-point performance by winning the fourth quarter, 25-16, and eventually win the game 89-81 at Barclays Center on Thursday night. —Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 20 June 2025

That means New York could pick it up and hold off on waiving him until October if no trade opportunity emerges. —John Hollinger, New York Times, 20 June 2025

Some clients are choosing to hold off a few months, in the hopes that the price of gold will eventually fall. —Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 18 June 2025

In the meantime, the Fed Chair said the central bank is well positioned to hold off on rate cuts. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 18 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for hold off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

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