as in to survive
to continue to operate or to meet one's needs
we hoped our supply of firewood would hold out until power was restored luckily, the old outboard motor held out till we made it to shore
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Recent Examples of hold out
Eyes were rolled, arms were held out and gloves were launched.
—
Beren Cross, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
Perhaps Henry or Hooper could be held out to give young players a shot.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2025
Meanwhile, video captured by NBC News' crew on the ground showed families across a tent encampment in Khan Younis trying to shovel and sweep dirty rainwater from their tents, while others gathered around a soup kitchen in the rain, holding out pots and pans and crying out for warm food.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 3 Jan. 2025
But while Massie held out to vote instead for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Norman and Self switched their votes in favor of Johnson after Trump called them.
—Jared Gans, The Hill, 3 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hold out 
Beren Cross, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
Perhaps Henry or Hooper could be held out to give young players a shot.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2025
Meanwhile, video captured by NBC News' crew on the ground showed families across a tent encampment in Khan Younis trying to shovel and sweep dirty rainwater from their tents, while others gathered around a soup kitchen in the rain, holding out pots and pans and crying out for warm food.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 3 Jan. 2025
But while Massie held out to vote instead for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Norman and Self switched their votes in favor of Johnson after Trump called them.
—Jared Gans, The Hill, 3 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hold out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hold out
Verb
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She is survived by her children Richard, Tamsin and Julie-Kate.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
17 Jan. 2025
-
Plowright is survived by her daughter, Julie-Kate Olivier; son Richard Olivier; daughter Tamsin Olivier; and four grandchildren.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
17 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Rubio’s memo reportedly did not provide additional details about the suspension policy, including how long any such suspension periods may last.—
Samantha Riedel,
Them,
24 Jan. 2025
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Even before the first phase is completed, the fragile cease-fire agreement that has paused 15 months of war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas faces increasingly long odds of lasting or even reaching phase two.—
Tracy Wilkinson,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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And, lucky for us, these good mutations prevail a lot of the time.—
Amber Dance,
Smithsonian Magazine,
17 Jan. 2025
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Trump prevailed—and not exactly in a squeaker, either.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near hold out
Cite this Entry
“Hold out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hold%20out. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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