hold down
Britishverb
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to restrain or control
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informal to manage to retain or keep possession of
to hold down two jobs at once
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Also, keep down . Limit, restrain, as in Please hold down the noise . [First half of 1500s] Also see keep down .
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Work at or discharge one's duties satisfactorily, as in He managed to hold down two jobs at the same time . [ Colloquial ; 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.
Bujard says more must be done to support people in the "rush hour of life", such as those trying to hold down jobs and raise young families.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
That could hold down returns in the second half of 2026.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
But can the company hold down utility bills?
From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026
Instead of typing quietly, Amkraut Mueller started to hold down the function key and talk in hushed tones to her computer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
With a little luck and some hard work, he predicted, Sasha might be able to hold down a low-level job doing data processing.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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.
