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.
It cited a senior US official as saying that Trump told Netanyahu to hold off from striking Iran because "we are close to doing something good in terms of a deal".
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
What Arsenal simply couldn’t hold off was more than Paris’s dazzling array of talent.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
Sluggish economic growth can also have an impact on hiring, as businesses tend to hold off investment.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Regulators voted to hold off plans until 2030 after two major oil refineries threatened to close up shop in the state.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
I wasn’t too thirsty yet, so I decided to hold off.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
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.
