hold 'em

American

[hohld uhm] / ˈhoʊld əm /

noun

a form of poker in which each player is dealt two cards face down and then makes the best five-card hand by combining these with three of five communal cards that are dealt to the center of the table.

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.

In the words of Kenny Rogers, you gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2022

Drop "poker" in a Google Trends search box and you'll see that the Texas hold 'em boom lasted for about three years, from 2004 to 2006.

From Salon • Nov. 14, 2022

By age 19 Esfandiari was playing no-limit Texas hold 'em at his local casino.

From BBC • Sep. 21, 2022

The tree for no-limit hold ’em, in which players can bet any amount, has even more than that.

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2022

Colonel, you know we can’t hold ’em again.”

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023