hold off
Britishverb
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(tr) to keep apart or at a distance
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to refrain (from doing something)
he held off buying the house until prices fell slightly
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Keep at a distance, resist, delay, as in This payment should hold off the creditors . [Early 1400]
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Stop or delay from action, as in Let's hold off until we know more . [c. 1600]
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.
Chicago White Sox: The most improved team in baseball is desperately trying to hold off the Guardians and win a division title after finishing last two years in a row.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Many generic drugmakers agreed to hold off launching in the U.S. until 2022, then sell only up to limited quantities, starting at a low single-digit percentage of the market and rising to 30% by 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
Both main contracts fell more than two percent Monday as Bessent's comments appeared to suggest the US will hold off military action, but they ticked higher in early Asian trade.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Ahead of the decision to hold off on the new tariffs, analysts had been forecasting that Trump would back down.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
“You may wanna hold off on that celebration, Nic Nac. Please believe there are rules if you wanna keep this pup.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
