withhold
Americanverb (used with object)
-
withholds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
withheld,
past participle, past
-
withholding
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
withholds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
withheld,
past participle, past
-
withholding
present participle
-
to hold back; refrain.
-
to deduct withholding tax.
verb
-
(tr) to keep back; refrain from giving
he withheld his permission
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(tr) to hold back; restrain
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(tr) to deduct (taxes, etc) from a salary or wages
-
to refrain or forbear
Synonym Usage
See keep.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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withholdsimple
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withholdssimple
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have withheldperfect
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has withheldperfect
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am withholdingprogressive
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are withholdingprogressive
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is withholdingprogressive
-
have been withholdingperfect progressive
-
has been withholdingperfect progressive
Past
-
withheldsimple
-
had withheldperfect
-
was withholdingprogressive
-
were withholdingprogressive
-
had been withholdingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of withhold
First recorded in 1150–1200, withhold is from the Middle English word withholden. See with-, hold 1
Explanation
If you keep something back and don't share it, you withhold it. You can withhold things such as permission, emotion, or information. You might get into trouble if you withhold information from your parents or the police. The verb withhold means to deduct from a payment and hold back. Your job will withhold money from your paycheck for things like taxes. You may also choose to withhold money from your check for healthcare, retirement, and numerous other voluntary accounts. The past tense of the verb withhold is withheld. Withhold is spelled with a double h because it is made by combining the words with and hold.
Vocabulary lists containing withhold
The Pearl
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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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.
See Examples For:
Southern postmasters thus continued to withhold antislavery periodicals, with the tacit approval of Jackson protégé Kendall.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
"We also have to be willing to slow down or withhold further scaling when our confidence in safety is not sufficient," he added.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Trade unions threaten to withhold support for politicians, joining the popular backlash against the construction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The company will withhold $5bn of the settlement, and only release it if YouTube, TikTok and others also enter into similar agreements.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
“It is now noon. The interrogation will be at seven. Don’t bother preparing for it. You can’t withhold information while under the influence of truth serum.”
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
Amazon repeated a statement it made in response to the initial report, saying any suggestion that it intentionally withholds country-of-origin information is incorrect.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
“Today, the court holds that one exception — the postal exception — prevents individuals from recovering for injuries based on a postal employee’s intentional misconduct, including when an employee maliciously withholds their mail,” Sotomayor wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
To satisfy the taxes, the company withholds a certain number of shares from the employee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
In addition, the Social Security Administration withholds a portion of benefits for individuals whose income is higher than certain thresholds before their full retirement age.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 5, 2026
The smallest seed that, wrapped in soil, has dreams of April rains and days of June, withholds its secret from the wisest men.
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Lectures by Robert Green Ingersoll
In June, the oversight body filed the lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Department asking for a judge to order the release of the withheld records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
But even that outdoor time was sometimes withheld when her classmates “behaved poorly”—a common disciplinary tactic that the national guidance recommends against.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
He said the ministry "deliberately withheld" information about the testing programme.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
In 2026, the limit for someone below FRA for the entire year is $24,480, with $1 in benefits withheld for every $2 earned above that amount.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
The added truth which might have convinced him, the story of the visit to Zau, Ranofer had stubbornly withheld.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
From a modest family, he dreamt of becoming a computer engineer to "change his life", he told AFP, withholding his surname because "the fear is still there".
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
He added that the health board had taken "a 'one-size-fits-all' approach when withholding information, failing to carefully consider the case for and against disclosure".
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
He registered for Connecticut tax withholding for his nurses, according to court records.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
That could mean struggling for the last of a certain flavor of sports drink or withholding access to a doctor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
There were, to be sure, some who, while admitting she was pleasing enough, were withholding judgment as to her quality as a queen.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
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.
