withhold
Americanverb (used with object)
-
withholds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
withheld,
past participle, past
-
withholding
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
withholds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
withheld,
past participle, past
-
withholding
present participle
-
to hold back; refrain.
-
to deduct withholding tax.
verb
-
(tr) to keep back; refrain from giving
he withheld his permission
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(tr) to hold back; restrain
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(tr) to deduct (taxes, etc) from a salary or wages
-
to refrain or forbear
Synonym Usage
See keep.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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withholdsimple
-
withholdssimple
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have withheldperfect
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has withheldperfect
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am withholdingprogressive
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are withholdingprogressive
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is withholdingprogressive
-
have been withholdingperfect progressive
-
has been withholdingperfect progressive
Past
-
withheldsimple
-
had withheldperfect
-
was withholdingprogressive
-
were withholdingprogressive
-
had been withholdingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of withhold
First recorded in 1150–1200, withhold is from the Middle English word withholden. See with-, hold 1
Explanation
If you keep something back and don't share it, you withhold it. You can withhold things such as permission, emotion, or information. You might get into trouble if you withhold information from your parents or the police. The verb withhold means to deduct from a payment and hold back. Your job will withhold money from your paycheck for things like taxes. You may also choose to withhold money from your check for healthcare, retirement, and numerous other voluntary accounts. The past tense of the verb withhold is withheld. Withhold is spelled with a double h because it is made by combining the words with and hold.
Vocabulary lists containing withhold
The Pearl
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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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:
Southern postmasters thus continued to withhold antislavery periodicals, with the tacit approval of Jackson protégé Kendall.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
"We also have to be willing to slow down or withhold further scaling when our confidence in safety is not sufficient," he added.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
But lawyers for the families of the victims said the Government's attempt to withhold the information, through a Public Interest Immunity application, was in "contradiction" to statements made after the attack.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Pace Gallery founder Arne Glimcher threatened to withhold future art donations from the museum unless the exhibition was canceled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Those who swelled their little unarmed strength into the reckoning one of leagues, clubs, societies, sisterhoods designed to hold or withhold, move or stay put, make a way, solicit, comfort and ease.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
To satisfy the taxes, Nvidia withholds a certain number of shares from the employee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
“Today, the court holds that one exception — the postal exception — prevents individuals from recovering for injuries based on a postal employee’s intentional misconduct, including when an employee maliciously withholds their mail,” Sotomayor wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
In addition, the Social Security Administration withholds a portion of benefits for individuals whose income is higher than certain thresholds before their full retirement age.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 5, 2026
For most taxpayers, their employer withholds taxes in every paycheck, with the majority due a tax refund for having overpaid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
He may, and I believe often does, compensate for the means which he withholds; but this gives no ground to suppose that he will make up for those which we neglect.'
From Discipline by Mary Brunton
It comes after the Financial Times reported, external Anthropic withheld its latest model from the AI Safety Institute, which tests AI.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
In June, the oversight body filed the lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Department asking for a judge to order the release of the withheld records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
But even that outdoor time was sometimes withheld when her classmates “behaved poorly”—a common disciplinary tactic that the national guidance recommends against.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
Another important caveat: If you claim Social Security before reaching FRA and you are still working, your wages can lead to some of your benefits to be withheld.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Hatred seethed in Khione’s eyes, but she withheld her frost.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
“Please, please I just want something, I’ll do anything,” the hungry 8-year-old boy would beg, according to his sister, whose identity The Times is withholding because she is a juvenile.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
From a modest family, he dreamt of becoming a computer engineer to "change his life", he told AFP, withholding his surname because "the fear is still there".
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
He added that the health board had taken "a 'one-size-fits-all' approach when withholding information, failing to carefully consider the case for and against disclosure".
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
He registered for Connecticut tax withholding for his nurses, according to court records.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
The deception was for his benefit—he was withholding information because patients might have refused to participate in his study if they’d known what he was injecting.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
