hold back

verb

1. to restrain or be restrained

2. (tr) to withhold

   he held back part of the payment

noun

1. a strap of the harness joining the breeching to the shaft, so that the horse can hold back the vehicle

2. something that restrains or hinders

Idioms and Phrases

Also, keep back.

Retain in one's possession or control, as in He held back vital information , or I managed to keep back my tears . [First half of 1500s]

Restrain one-self, as in She held back from joining the others , or I wanted to denounce him right there, but I kept back for fear of making a scene . The first usage dates from the second half of the 1500s, the variant from the early 1800s.

Impede the progress of, as in The barriers held back traffic during the funeral procession , or Her daughter was kept back and had to repeat first grade .

Example Sentences

Numerous rights groups lobbied the 11-nation bloc to hold back monitors, lest they lend legitimacy to a vote which they say is critically flawed.

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Milei has lost allies among governors for having held back funds for infrastructure projects and other earmarks.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

As he finished talking about the pain of separation — both his and Pages’ — his eyes began to water as he held back tears.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Capital One felt so good about how borrowers are paying back credit cards and auto loans that it released $760 million it had been holding back to cover potential losses.

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“Democratic leaders don’t love demonstrations against their policies and actions, but they tend to hold back on repressing the protests, arresting protesters whose actions are lawful, or using aggressive crowd-control techniques.”

Read more on Salon