behold

[bih-hohld]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR behold ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), be·held, be·hold·ing.

to observe; look at; see.

interjection

look; see: And, behold, three sentries of the King did appear.

Origin of behold

before 900; Middle English beholden, Old English behaldan to keep. See be-, hold¹

Related formsbe·hold·a·ble, adjectivebe·hold·er, nounun·be·hold·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms for behold

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR behold ON THESAURUS.COM

1. regard, gaze upon, view; watch; discern.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for beholder

observer, viewer, watcher, spectator, eyewitness, onlooker

Examples from the Web for beholder

Contemporary Examples of beholder

Beauty, in his case at least, really is in the eye of the beholder.
Art on the Tracks
Malcolm Jones
February 1, 2014
I joined the Marines the week I turned 17, and that led to a few experiences that might qualify as adventure—eye of the beholder.
Daniel Woodrell: How I Write
Noah Charney
September 4, 2013
But be warned, the action here is mostly in the eyes of the beholder.
Thomas H. Cook’s Book Bag: Must Reads on the Writing Life
Thomas H. Cook
August 14, 2012
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and we have some very pretty girls here.
Harry Warned Off ‘Fornicating’?
Tom Sykes
November 8, 2011
As you can see, chalak is in the eye of the accuser, er, beholder.
The Insult Behind Obama's U.K. Codename
Asra Q. Nomani
May 24, 2011

Historical Examples of beholder

The Eastern end of the Cathedral does not impress the beholder.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
He is a beholder of ideas and an utterer of the necessary and causal.
Essays, Second Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The metamorphosis excites in the beholder an emotion of joy.
Essays, Second Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Any beholder would imagine that she was alive, and not dead.
The Arabian Nights
Unknown
It gave him a roguish—almost boyish—effect most appealing to the beholder.
Gigolo
Edna Ferber

British Dictionary definitions for beholder

behold

verb -holds, -holding or -held (often used in the imperative to draw attention to something) archaic, or literary

to look (at); observe

Derived Formsbeholder, noun

Word Origin for behold

Old English bihealdan; related to Old High German bihaltan, Dutch behouden; see be-, hold

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

Word Origin and History for beholder

late 14c., agent noun from behold.

behold

Old English bihaldan (West Saxon behealdan) "give regard to, hold in view," also "to keep hold of, to belong to," from be- + haldan, healdan (see hold). Related: Beheld; beholding. A common West Germanic compound, cf. Old Saxon bihaldan "hold, keep," Old Frisian bihalda, Old High German bihaltan, German behalten, but "[t]he application to watching, looking, is confined to English" [OED].