behold
Americanverb (used with object)
-
beholds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
beheld,
past participle, past
-
beholding
present participle
interjection
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
beholdsimple
-
beholdssimple
-
have beheldperfect
-
has beheldperfect
-
am beholdingprogressive
-
are beholdingprogressive
-
is beholdingprogressive
-
have been beholdingperfect progressive
-
has been beholdingperfect progressive
Past
-
beheldsimple
-
had beheldperfect
-
was beholdingprogressive
-
were beholdingprogressive
-
had been beholdingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of behold
First recorded before 900; Middle English beholden, Old English behaldan “to keep”; see be-, hold 1
Explanation
To behold is to see. You could behold the changing sky as the sun sets. It’s old-fashioned and fancy, so magicians like to use it, as in “Behold! I shall pull a rabbit out of my hat!” Have you ever heard "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"? That can help you remember that to behold is to see something and to hold it in your attention. To behold is to look intensely — it’s much more than a glance. A good example of beholding is when you take the time to check out something special like that beautiful sunset, or a bunny hopping out of a hat and handing out candy.
Vocabulary lists containing behold
"Frankenstein"
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Awkward
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 3
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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:
With AI images bleeding into the real world at a pace none of us can keep up with, there’s human marvel to behold in Anderson’s madness.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Our critic raved that “Both indoors and out, Porter proved that there was beauty where one was inclined to behold it. This show is an invaluable opportunity to do just that.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The Ming dynasty floating-crab cup is a marvel to behold.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
The Hutchinson Himalayas are a site to behold — a mile-long museum of municipal neglect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
His mother thought it was beautiful to behold and took a delight in allowing it to grow extra long.
From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
“For the listener, who listens in the snow, / And, nothing himself, beholds / Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
And in the making of “Sincerely,” which beholds her most revealing lyrics yet, authenticity was key.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025
In the Phaedrus, Plato describes the soul sprouting and growing wings when it beholds something beautiful.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
On the other hand, she receives great kindness and hospitality from nomadic families and beholds, with awe, pristine landscapes and spectacular, star-spangled night skies.
From Washington Post ● May 23, 2019
But Nature calls the poet to her aid, And in his lays beholds her glory live For ever.
From The Isle of Palms and Other Poems by John Lyde Wilson
At least, it did until very recently, when we fully beheld the wretched manifestations of Meta’s desperate A.I. push.
From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2025
He and countless others who had tuned in via social media beheld the flames with awe as they silhouetted a seemingly doomed ski lift terminal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2024
She hiked uphill from her riverside worksite and beheld a vista of sheer mountain slopes unbroken by rivers or streams.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 1, 2024
It remains firmly planted in our hearts, just as it was in the hearts of the shepherds when they first beheld the baby in the manger.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 24, 2023
I indeed perceptibly gained on it, and when, after nearly two days’ journey, I beheld my enemy at no more than a mile distant, my heart bounded within me.
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
There is a particular thrill in beholding a portrait as old and as lifelike as Isidora’s, just over a foot in height and 6 inches wide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
“The Times posed the question, ‘Will Swift ever voluntarily step away from the spotlight?’ as if beholding a woman in full flow and power invariably summoned the fantasy of her involuntary removal from the scene.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025
In the context of the story, the narrator is describing his descent into insanity after beholding the most grotesque, ungodly beast in existence.
From Salon ● Mar. 18, 2025
These products have been verified compliant with modern standards for beholding eclipses.
From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2024
Defying the storm that threatened, the clouds that curtained the sun now pass, and we three survivors of a long-ago tragedy stand together in silence, beholding one another in the sun’s light.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
