on hold
Idioms-
In a state of temporary interruption, but not disconnection, during a telephone call, as in While I was on hold, I checked my calendar for when I could schedule a meeting , or They had to put me on hold while they looked up my account . [c. 1960]
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In a state of postponement or delay, as in When she was transferred, they had to put their romance on hold . This figurative usage is a broadened sense of def. 1. [ Colloquial ; c. 1970]
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.
A co-worker had asked me to co-host a podcast with her; now that was on hold.
From Slate • Apr. 18, 2026
"It feels like our lives have been on hold for the past three and a half years because it has been very stop-start," said Tuczemskyi.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
With the conflict on hold, the price of oil has fallen 27% to $82 a barrel from a four-year high of nearly $113 a week and a half ago.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026
Limited demand pressures and Middle East uncertainties should keep the central bank on hold in the near term, it added.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
In 1992, after years of growing protests that spread far beyond the Delaware Valley, the dam plan was finally put on hold, but by this time whole villages and farms had been bulldozed.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
