ahold

American  

[uh-hohld] / əˈhoʊld /

noun

1. Informal. a hold or grasp (often followed byof ).

   He took ahold of my arm. Grab ahold!

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adverb

1. Nautical Archaic. close to the wind and on a single tack.

   to keep a vessel ahold.

idioms

1. get ahold of, hold.

Etymology

Origin of ahold

First recorded in 1600–10; a- ¹ + hold ¹ (noun)

Example Sentences

“You can’t change your iris if someone does manage to get ahold of that information.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

After finding the horses, DeBok said he had trouble “getting ahold of anyone” to respond.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026

“We just haven’t had a chance to identify in many cases who the people stopped even were, let alone — over a holiday weekend — get ahold of the agents,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2025

I have to get ahold of her to get it.

From Salon • Jan. 22, 2025

“Oh, my heavens. How’d you get ahold of that piece of antiquity?”

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool