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Synonyms

hold on

British  

verb

  1. to maintain a firm grasp

    she held on with all her strength

  2. to continue or persist

  3. (foll by to) to keep or retain

    hold on to those stamps as they'll soon be valuable

  4. to keep a telephone line open

"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

interjection

  1. informal stop! wait!

"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
hold on Idioms  

  1. Also, hold on to . Maintain one's grip, cling, as in Hold on to your hat in this wind , or The early Christians held on to their beliefs despite strong opposition . [Early 1500s]

  2. Continue to do something, persist, as in Please hold on for a while longer . [Late 1800s]

  3. Stop, wait, as in Hold on! We can't go past this gate . [Mid-1800s]

  4. Remain on a telephone line, as in If you can hold on a minute I'll go and find her . [Late 1800s]

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.

Kelly: Hold on, you knew who 'TT' was straight away, though?

From BBC • May 2, 2026

Hold on to your mint julep because tomorrow Cox hopes to change that.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

Sit in a dim restaurant with someone over 60, and you might hear, "Hold on -- let me pull out my cell phone. I need more light to read the menu!"

From Science Daily • Oct. 14, 2025

Jefferies analysts upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold on Tuesday.

From Barron's • Oct. 7, 2025

Hold on, baby, just a little bit longer And then I’ll be on my way.

From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar

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.