Showing results for "held"

• past participle of hold.
• past tense form of hold.

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• held
  held

  verb

  simple past tense and a past participle of hold.
• Held
  Held

  noun

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

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

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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

See Examples For:

held Held

ByteDance, the privately held company behind TikTok, has begun charging participating hotels a roughly 12% fee on certain bookings completed through Doubao, its popular AI assistant.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Israel held five elections between 2019 and 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Cultural events already held in the city include Reggae Land at the National Bowl and the Milton Keynes International Festival.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

But each fall, he transforms into the Captain — the undead host of festivities at the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, a haunted attraction held in Long Beach during the Halloween season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

“Because”—Gingersnipes held up her paws as if it were obvious—“I am useless.”

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Held in pre-trial detention ever since, Goktas is facing charges of insulting Erdogan and incitement to public hatred, with prosecutors later adding an extra charge of praising crime and criminals, according to the indictment.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Held up in a trade, he’s expected to now go play for Toronto.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Bryan Mbeumo: Held his wide position and threatened with crosses and short passes.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

Held at USC, the event honors storytellers across genres, hosting readings, screenings and performances.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026

Held it up so I could take a look.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

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