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  • hold-up
    hold-up
    noun
    a robbery, esp an armed one
  • hold up
    hold up

    Offer or present as an example, as in The teacher held Bernie's essay up as a model for the class to follow . [c. 1600]

Synonyms

hold-up

British  

noun

  1. a robbery, esp an armed one

  2. a delay; stoppage

  3. an excessive charge; extortion

  4. (usually plural) a stocking that is held up by an elasticated top without suspenders

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to delay; hinder

    we were held up by traffic

  2. (tr) to keep from falling; support

  3. (tr) to stop forcibly or waylay in order to rob, esp using a weapon

  4. (tr) to exhibit or present

    he held up his achievements for our admiration

  5. (intr) to survive or last

    how are your shoes holding up?

  6. bridge to refrain from playing a high card, so delaying the establishment of (a suit)

  7. to confess a mistake or misdeed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
hold up Idioms  

  1. Offer or present as an example, as in The teacher held Bernie's essay up as a model for the class to follow . [c. 1600]

  2. Obstruct or delay, as in We were held up in traffic . [c. 1900]

  3. Rob, as in He was held up in a dark alley, with no help nearby . This usage, which gave rise to the noun holdup for a robbery, alludes to the robbers' demand that the victims hold their hands high. [Late 1800s]

  4. Also, hold out . Continue to function without losing force or effectiveness, endure. For example, We held up through that long bitter winter , or The nurse was able to hold out until someone could relieve her . [Late 1500s]

  5. See hold one's head high .

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.

"Hold up my part of this deal. Just deliver that. That's my motivation."

From BBC • Sep. 9, 2024

Hold up the boombox in the rain, choreograph a dance on the bleachers, threaten to jump off a Ferris wheel.

From Washington Post • Feb. 16, 2022

Hold up, Gerry – you bought a Ford F-150 just so you could transport giant skeletons?

From Seattle Times • Oct. 28, 2021

"They clear everyone out? Hold up, what's going on?... No way everyone is dead in there."

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 10, 2016

“A regular daisy. Hold up your dress and put your hat on straight, it looks sentimental tipped that way and will fly off at the first puff. Now then, come on!”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

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.