hold

The word “hold” means to grasp, carry, or support something with your hands or arms. In plain terms, to grip, keep, or maintain something — physically, in time, or in effect.

“Hold” is pronounced hohld (/hoʊld/ in IPA).

Here is “hold” used in a sentence: “Can you hold this bag while I find my keys?”

The opposite of “hold” — its antonyms — is release.

Depending on how it is used, “hold” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “hold” comes from Old English. From Old English healdan, meaning "to tend, herd, or keep," ultimately from a very old root meaning "to drive" — related to the word "halt.".

“Hold” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Hold” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to grasp, carry, or support something with your hands or arms.

To hold something is to grasp or support it, keeping it in place with your hands or arms. To carry it is to hold it while moving it from one place to another. You can hold a cup at the table, but you carry it across the room. Carrying adds movement.

Beyond grasping something, "hold" can mean to contain ("the jug holds a litre"), to keep or reserve ("hold my seat"), to host ("hold a meeting"), to pause ("hold on"), or to stay true ("the rule still holds"). All share the idea of keeping or supporting.

The past tense and past participle are both "held." So you say "she holds the baby" in the present, "she held the baby" in the past, and "she has held the baby" for the perfect form. "Hold" is an irregular verb, so it does not simply add "-ed."

You hold a pen when you write, hold a child's hand when crossing the road, and hold a railing for balance. In each case you are grasping or supporting something with your hands or arms — the core physical meaning of the word.