held

¹ American  

[held] / hɛld /

verb

1. simple past tense and a past participle of hold.

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Held ² American  

[held] / hɛld /

noun

1. John, Jr., 1889–1958, U.S. cartoonist, illustrator, and writer.

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held British  

/ hɛld /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of hold 1

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Other Word Forms

• unheld adjective

Explanation

Anything that's held is controlled or kept by someone (or something). A city, for example, might be held by an attacking army. A rebel-held town is occupied by an invading group of rebels, and a Republican-held government is controlled by that particular political party. When Americans win so many medals in the Olympics that they break a world record, you might hear it described as a US-held record. Held comes from the Old English haldan, "to possess, contain, or rule."

Example Sentences

The leisure side of Lululemon’s business also hasn’t held up as well; innovation in that business hasn’t amounted to much more than new colors.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 25, 2026

Poly households who end up hiring lawyers are most often throuples or foursomes seeking to protect jointly held assets, parent children in common and ensure they can care for one another in life-or-death crises.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026

Dozens of rally participants were later held civilly liable.

From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026

Behind them, Khusanov's pace provided City with a get-out-of-jail free card when they held their high line.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

I held the lamp for Mutti as she shook out some straw around Marlene’s feet.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo