1
as in to postpone
to assign to a later time
held up mail delivery until we had a permanent address
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stop
to bring (something) to a standstill
traffic was held up for miles by the accident
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to hamper
to create difficulty for the work or activity of
if lack of transportation is the only thing holding you up, I can give you a ride
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to survive
to continue to operate or to meet one's needs
the air conditioner held up this year, but it's not going to make it through another summer
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5
as in to remain
to remain indefinitely in existence or in the same state
the storm's hurricane-force winds did not hold up once it hit the coast
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in to fly
to withstand scrutiny and gain acceptance or approval
an argument that won't hold up in court
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as in delay
an instance or period of being prevented from going about one's business
a holdup in construction due to the weather
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hold up
Tom Cotton, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2026
Washable rugs, once considered a niche product, are now gaining popularity among pet owners looking for solutions that hold up over time.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026
Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2026
The holdup on arresting Tyson is that the public defender originally assigned to Tyson also represents Jones.
—Morgan Rynor, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hold up
Verb
That starts with retooling the permitting process that approves — or, more often, holds up — major power generation, mining and other critical infrastructure and defense-related projects.
—Tom Cotton, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2026
Washable rugs, once considered a niche product, are now gaining popularity among pet owners looking for solutions that hold up over time.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026
Noun
The holdup reportedly took about an hour.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2026
The holdup on arresting Tyson is that the public defender originally assigned to Tyson also represents Jones.
—Morgan Rynor, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hold up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hold up
Verb
-
The April 25 shooting incident forced organizers to postpone the annual dinner, a black-tie affair attended by nearly 3,000 journalists, politicians, corporate executives and others.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
2 May 2026
-
Barry Manilow has once again postponed his upcoming Las Vegas shows as the singer works his way back from a lung cancer diagnosis late last year.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Quin Snyder’s Towns wrinkle stalled the Knicks briefly, then stopped working.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The workers get ordered to start jobs, stop jobs, ignore jobs and are other things that turn them into ping pong balls, with the Butleys and the del Valles as the paddles.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Maintain a safe distance from large vehicles - Trucks or buses can produce a water spray that hampers visibility.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The intensity of the flames and the resulting smoke, compounded by the fact that the fire spread over the area mostly after dark, hampered the aerial firefighting strategy.—
Stefano Pozzebon,
CNN Money,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Fred, their oldest surviving child, was suspended from Princeton for cheating, then caught embezzling from his Seattle employer to feed, Church suspected, a gambling habit.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
The Sox survived a scare in the ninth.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
3 May 2026
Verb
-
For now, though, Lozano remains out of sight, but not out of the conversation.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 May 2026
-
First, since no one actually knows the future, guessing, speculating, or simply making things up remains the state of the art for almost everyone involved in describing it.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
The passenger's 69-year-old wife leaves and flies to South Africa.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
-
Passengers were already paying more to fly – even before the industry lost the budget airline famous for pushing fares lower.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
According to The Tennessean, trainers from both teams rushed out to assist Kennedy, and that caused a 15-minute delay in the game.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
2 May 2026
-
Two batters into the top of the sixth, a sudden, aggressive rain began pouring down on Citizens Bank Park, prompting a brisk 24-minute delay.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
In February, opponents packed the City Hall chambers ahead of a planned Historic Preservation Board meeting, which was ultimately deferred at the Fontainebleau’s request after one of the board members didn’t show up.—
Aaron Leibowitz,
Miami Herald,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Booker deferred too much to Durant.—
Doug Haller,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hold up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hold%20up. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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