hold off
Britishverb
-
(tr) to keep apart or at a distance
-
to refrain (from doing something)
he held off buying the house until prices fell slightly
-
Keep at a distance, resist, delay, as in This payment should hold off the creditors . [Early 1400]
-
Stop or delay from action, as in Let's hold off until we know more . [c. 1600]
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.
It cited a senior US official as saying that Trump told Netanyahu to hold off from striking Iran because "we are close to doing something good in terms of a deal".
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
Oil futures rose for the first time in three sessions after Israel and Iran exchanged strikes over the weekend before saying they will hold off further attacks.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Districts reported that the outlook remains highly uncertain, leading producers to hold off on materially expanding activity, the survey said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
If possible, residents should hold off on tree trimming or vegetation clearing during nesting season.
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2026
If he was predicting we couldn’t hold off an attack, that wasn’t good.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
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.
