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hold off

SEE SYNONYMS FOR hold off ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (adverb)

(tr) to keep apart or at a distance
(intr often foll by from) to refrain (from doing something)he held off buying the house until prices fell slightly

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Words nearby hold off

holding paddock, holding pattern, holding tank, hold it, hold no brief for, hold off, hold on, hold one's breath, hold one's end up, hold one's fire, hold one's head high
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Words related to hold off

defer, suspend, delay, hold up, shelve, adjourn, prohibit, rule out, thwart, forbid, restrict, hamper, halt, forestall, avoid, restrain, hinder, avert, stop, impede

Example sentences from the Web for hold off

  • McCarthy's hold-off was renewed each time, but the election did not arrive.

    Stover at Yale|Owen Johnson

  • You can save me if you like, or you can hold-off and let me go to prison.

    Fenton's Quest|M. E. Braddon

Idioms and Phrases with hold off

hold off
1

Keep at a distance, resist, delay, as in This payment should hold off the creditors. [Early 1400]

2

Stop or delay from action, as in Let's hold off until we know more. [c. 1600]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.