held
verb
simple past tense and a past participle of hold.
held
1 American
[held]
/ hɛld /
verb
Held
2
American
[held]
/ hɛld /
noun
held
British
/ hɛld /
verb
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Anything that's held is controlled or kept by someone (or something). A city, for example, might be held by an attacking army. A rebel-held town is occupied by an invading group of rebels, and a Republican-held government is controlled by that particular political party. When Americans win so many medals in the Olympics that they break a world record, you might hear it described as a US-held record. Held comes from the Old English haldan, "to possess, contain, or rule."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Blau, Bhutani and other coauthors are inventors on patent applications held by Stanford University involving 15-PGDH inhibition for cartilage and tissue rejuvenation.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
The majority French-speaking province has held other votes on this, in 1980 and 1995.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Katz and Junger sued, accusing their ex-bosses of discrimination and retaliation, and held a press conference.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The Paris criminal court on Monday ordered the trial be held behind closed doors.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
All Indiana held its breath, and somebody raised a lantern aloft.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Held in pre-trial detention ever since, Goktas is facing charges of insulting Erdogan and incitement to public hatred, with prosecutors later adding an extra charge of praising crime and criminals, according to the indictment.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Held on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul –- a vast mountain lake in northern Kyrgyzstan -- athletes have been competing in dozens of disciplines: from intellectual board games to arm-wrestling.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Held up in a trade, he’s expected to now go play for Toronto.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Julio Ensico: Held off Shaw and Mbeumo on length-of-field run but no reward as effort lacked power.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Held at bay by the hate of others, preoccupied with his own feelings, he was continuously at war with reality.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
