hold out

verb

1. (tr) to offer or present

2. (intr) to last or endure

3. (intr) to continue to resist or stand firm, as a city under siege or a person refusing to succumb to persuasion

4. to withhold (something due or expected)

5. to wait patiently or uncompromisingly for (the fulfilment of one's demands)

6. informal,  to delay in or keep from telling (a person) some new or important information

noun

1. a person, country, organization, etc, that continues to resist or refuses to change

   Honecker was one of the staunchest holdouts against reform

2. a person, country, organization, etc, that declines to cooperate or participate

   they remain the only holdouts to signing the accord

Idioms and Phrases

Extend, stretch forth; also, present or offer something. For example, He held out his hand and she took it , or The new policy held out promise of major changes in the welfare program . These usages date from the first half of the 1500s and of the 1600s respectively.

Last, continue to be in supply or service, as in The food is holding out nicely . [Late 1500s] Also see hold up , def. 4.

Continue to resist, as in The garrison held out for another month . [Second half of 1700s]

Withhold cooperation, agreement, or information, as in We've asked for a better deal, but they've been holding out for months . It is also put as hold out on , as in They were still holding out on some of the provisions , or He's not telling us what happened; he's holding out on us .

hold out for . Insist on obtaining, as in The union is still holding out for a better contract . [c. 1900]

Example Sentences

They gathered around us, holding out photos of husbands, fathers or sons - men who may live now only in their memory.

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May they have the fortitude to hold out, or things will get much worse.

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But as Wilson walked toward the exit, minister after minister held out a hand to take one of the educational fliers he’d brought to hand out.

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The terrorists expected Mr. Biden to force Israel to stop if they held out long enough.

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The longer you hold out for Social Security, the better, especially if you expect to live into your 80s.

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Related Words

• hold on 
• withstand