hold court

1. Be surrounded by and command the attention of admirers, subordinates, or hangers-on. For example, After a match Judy generally held court in the locker room. This expression alludes to royalty convening courtiers as well as a judge convening a court of law.

Example Sentences

It takes skill, after all, to tour the nation’s college campuses and hold court with lefty undergraduates, dialing up an array of canned responses for the issues pumping through the news cycle: immigration, gender identity, Israel, even gun violence, which video shows he was discussing when he was shot.

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There is a group of Black men who hold court, convening their own salon of sorts, outside of a coffee shop I walk by almost every day.

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Although an array of satellite fairs and pop-up shows engulf the entire city, the priciest sales are still brokered at the convention center, where a who’s who of selected dealers hold court.

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“Every night, for years on end, she and Fraser would hold court at the dinner table, where they indulged all manner of questioning, teaching their children to believe in the power and worth of their own voices,” the statement read.

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But as the incumbent, he was given the first speaking slot — and he used it to hold court uninterrupted for nearly an hour.

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