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  • hold-up
    hold-up
    noun
    a robbery, esp an armed one
  • hold up
    hold up

    Offer or present as an example, as in The teacher held Bernie's essay up as a model for the class to follow . [c. 1600]

Synonyms

hold-up

British  

noun

  1. a robbery, esp an armed one

  2. a delay; stoppage

  3. an excessive charge; extortion

  4. (usually plural) a stocking that is held up by an elasticated top without suspenders

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to delay; hinder

    we were held up by traffic

  2. (tr) to keep from falling; support

  3. (tr) to stop forcibly or waylay in order to rob, esp using a weapon

  4. (tr) to exhibit or present

    he held up his achievements for our admiration

  5. (intr) to survive or last

    how are your shoes holding up?

  6. bridge to refrain from playing a high card, so delaying the establishment of (a suit)

  7. to confess a mistake or misdeed

"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 up Idioms  

  1. Offer or present as an example, as in The teacher held Bernie's essay up as a model for the class to follow . [c. 1600]

  2. Obstruct or delay, as in We were held up in traffic . [c. 1900]

  3. Rob, as in He was held up in a dark alley, with no help nearby . This usage, which gave rise to the noun holdup for a robbery, alludes to the robbers' demand that the victims hold their hands high. [Late 1800s]

  4. Also, hold out . Continue to function without losing force or effectiveness, endure. For example, We held up through that long bitter winter , or The nurse was able to hold out until someone could relieve her . [Late 1500s]

  5. See hold one's head high .

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.

"Hold up my part of this deal. Just deliver that. That's my motivation."

From BBC • Sep. 9, 2024

Hold up, Gerry – you bought a Ford F-150 just so you could transport giant skeletons?

From Seattle Times • Oct. 28, 2021

Hold up, Gerry — you bought a Ford F-150 just so you could transport giant skeletons?

From Washington Post • Oct. 24, 2021

"Hold up your hand to the stars," said Jesse Jay Taken Alive, former chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2016

“But I’d like to see it, wouldn’t you? What did you say? Hold up your head. I didn’t hear you. What did you say?”

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

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.