HOLD, v.t. pret.held; pp. held. Holden is obsolete in elegant writing. [Gr. to hold or restrain; Heb. to hold or contain.]

1. A grasp with the hand; an embrace with the arms; any act or exertion of the strength or limbs which keeps a thing fast and prevents escape. Keep your had; never quit your hold. It is much used after the verbs to take, and to lay; to take hold, or to lay hold, is to seize. It is used in a literal sense; as, to take hold with the hands, with the arms, or with the teeth; or in a figurative sense. Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Ex. xv. Take fast hold of instruction. Prov. iv. My soul took hold on thee. Addison.
2. Something which may be seized for support; that which supports. If a man be upon a high place, without a good hold, he is ready to fall. Bacon.
3. Power of keeping. On your vigor now, / My hold of this new kingdom all depends. Milton.
4. Power of seizing. The law hath yet another hold on you. Shak.
5. A prison; a place of confinement. They laid hands on them, and put them in hold till the next day. Acts iv.
6. Custody; safe keeping. King Richard, he is in the mighty hold / Of Bolingbroke. Shak.
7. Power or influence operating on the mind; advantage that may be employed in directing or persuading another, or in governing his conduct. Fear – by which God and his laws take the surest hold of us. Tillotson. Gives fortune no more hold of him than is necessary. Dryden.
8. Lurking place; a place of security; as, the hold of a wild beast.
9. A fortified place; a fort; a castle; often called a strong hold. Jer. li.
10. The whole interior cavity of a ship, between the floor and the lower deck. In a vessel of one deck, the whole interior space from the keel or floor to the deck. That part of the hold which lies abaft the main-mast is called the after-hold; that part immediately before the main-mast, the main-hold; that part about the fore-hatchway, the fore-hold. Mar. Dict.
11. In music, a mark directing the performer to rest on the note over which it is placed. It is called also a pause.

1. To be true; not to fail; to stand, as a fact or truth. This is a sound argument in many cases, but does not hold in the case under consideration. The rule holds in lands as well as in other things. Locke. In this application, we often say, to hold true, to hold good. The argument holds good in both cases. This holds true in most cases.
2. To continue unbroken or unsubdued. Our force by land hath nobly held. [Little used.] Shak.
3. To last; to endure. Bacon. We now say, to hold out.
4. To continue. While our obedience holds. Milton.
5. To be fast; to be firm; not to give way, or part. The rope is strong; I believe it will hold. The anchor holds well.
6. To refrain. His dauntless heart would fain have held From weeping. Dryden.
7. To stick or adhere. The plaster will not hold. To hold forth, to speak in public; to harangue; to preach; to proclaim. L'Estrange. To hold in, to restrain one's self. He was tempted to laugh; he could hardly hold in. #2. To continue in good luck. [Unusual.] Swift. To hold off, to keep at a distance; to avoid connection. To hold of, to be dependent on; to derive title from. My crown is absolute and holds of none. Dryden. To hold on, to continue; not to be interrupted. The trade held on many years. Swift. #2. To keep fast hold; to cling to. #3. To proceed in a course. Job xvii. To hold out, to last; to endure; to continue. A consumptive constitution may hold out a few years. He will accomplish the work if his strength holds out. #2. Not to yield; not to surrender; not to be subdued. The garrison still held out. To hold to, to cling or cleave to; to adhere. Else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Matth. vi. To hold under, or from, to have title from; as, petty barons holding under the greater barons. To hold with, to adhere to; to side with; to stand up for. To hold plow, to direct or steer a plow by the hand in tillage. To hold together, to be joined; not to separate; to remaIn in union. Dryden. Locke. To hold up, to support one's self; as, to hold up under misfortunes. #2. To cease raining; to cease, as falling weather; used impersonally. It holds up; it will hold up. #3. To continue the same speed; to run or move as fast. Collier. But we now say, to keep up. To hold a wager, to lay, to stake or to hazard a wager. Swift. Hold, used imperatively, signifies stop; cease; forbear; be still.

1. To stop; to confine; to restrain from escape; to keep fast; to retain. It rarely or never signifies the first act of seizing or falling on, but the act of retaining a thing when seized or confined. To grasp, is to seize, or to keep fast in the hand; hold coincides with grasp in the latter sense, but not in the former. We hold a horse by means of a bridle. An anchor holds a ship in her station.
2. To embrace and confine, with bearing or lifting. We hold an orange in the hand, or a child in the arms.
3. To connect; to keep from separation. The loops held one curtain to another. Exod. xxxvi.
4. To maintain, as an opinion. He holds the doctrine of justification by free grace.
5. To consider; to regard; to think; to judge, that is, to have in the mind. I hold him but a fool. Shak. The Lord will not hold him guiltless, that taketh his name in vain. Exod. xx.
6. To contain, or to have capacity to receive and contain. Here is an empty basket that holds two bushels. This empty cask holds thirty gallons. The church holds two thousand people.
7. To retain within itself; to keep from running or flowing out. A vessel with holes in its bottom will not hold fluids. They have hewed them out broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Jer. ii.
8. To defend; to keep possession; to maintain. With what arms / We mean to hold what anciently we claim / Of empire. Milton.
9. To have; as, to hold a place, office or title.
10. To have or possess by title; as, he held his lands of the king. The estate is held by copy of court-roll.
11. To refrain; to stop; to restrain; to withhold. Hold your laughter. Hold your tongue. Death! what do'st? O, hold thy blow. Crashaw.
12. To keep; as, hold your peace.
13. To fix; to confine; to compel to observe or fulfill; as, to hold one to his promise.
14. To confine; to restrain from motion. The Most High – held still the flood till they had passed. 2 Esdras.
15. To confine; to bind; in a legal or moral sense. He is held to perform his covenants.
16. To maintain; to retain; to continue. But still he held his purpose to depart. Dryden.
17. To keep in continuance or practice. And Night and Chaos, ancestors of Nature, hold Eternal anarchy. Milton.
18. To continue; to keep; to prosecute or carry on. Seed-time and harvest, heat and hoary frost, / Shall hold their course. Milton.
19. To have in session; as, to hold a court or parliament; to hold a council.
20. To celebrate; to solemnize; as, to hold a feast.
21. To maintain; to sustain; to have in use or exercise; as, to hold an argument or debate.
22. To sustain; to support. Thy right hand shall hold me. Ps. cxxxix.
23. To carry; to wield. They all hold swords, being expert in war. Cant. iii.
24. To maintain; to observe in practice. Ye hold the traditions of men. Mark vii.
25. To last; to endure. The provisions will hold us, till we arrive in port. So we say, the provisions will last us; but the phrase is elliptical for will hold or last for us, the verb being intransitive. To hold forth, to offer; to exhibit; to propose. Observe the connection of ideas in the propositions which books hold forth and pretend to teach. Locke. #2. To reach forth; to put forward to view. Cheyne. To hold in, to restrain; to curb; to govern by the bridle. Swift. #2. To restrain in general; to check; to repress. Hooker. To hold off, to keep at a distance. Pope. To hold on, to continue or proceed in; as, to hold on a course. To hold out, to extend; to stretch forth. The king held out to Esther the golden scepter. Esther v. #2. To propose; to offer. Fortune holds out these to you as rewards. B. Jonson. #3. To continue to do or suffer. He can not long hold out these pangs. [Not used.] Shak. To hold up, to raise; as, hold up your head. #2. To sustain; to support. He holds himself up in virtue. Sidney. #3. To retain; to withhold. #4. To offer; to exhibit. He held up to view the prospect of gain. #5. To sustain; to keep from falling. To hold one's own, to keep good one's present condition; not to fall off, or to lose ground. In seamen's language, a ship holds her own, when she sails as fast as another ship, or keeps her course. To hold, is used by the Irish, for to lay, as a bet, to wager. I hold a crown, or a dollar; but this is a vulgar use of the word.

1. The whole interior portion of a vessel below the lower deck, in which the cargo is stowed.
2. To cause to remain in a given situation, position, or relation, within certain limits, or the like; to prevent from falling or escaping; to sustain; to restrain; to keep in the grasp; to retain.
   
   

   The loops held one curtain to another. Ex. xxxvi. 12.

   Thy right hand shall hold me. Ps. cxxxix. 10.

   They all hold swords, being expert in war. Cant. iii. 8.

   In vain he seeks, that having can not hold. Spenser.

   France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue, . . .
   A fasting tiger safer by the tooth,
   Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold. Shak.

3. Not to move; to halt; to stop; -- mostly in the imperative.
   
   

   And damned be him that first cries, "Hold, enough!" Shak.

4. The act of holding, as in or with the hands or arms; the manner of holding, whether firm or loose; seizure; grasp; clasp; gripe; possession; -- often used with the verbs take and lay.
   
   

   Ne have I not twelve pence within mine hold. Chaucer.

   Thou should'st lay hold upon him. B. Jonson.

   My soul took hold on thee. Addison.

   Take fast hold of instruction. Pror. iv. 13.

5. A small cavity used in some games, usually one into which a marble or ball is to be played or driven; hence, a score made by playing a marble or ball into such a hole, as in golf.
   
   
   (b) (Fives)
6. To retain in one's keeping; to maintain possession of, or authority over; not to give up or relinquish; to keep; to defend.
   
   

   We mean to hold what anciently we claim
   Of deity or empire. Milton.

7. Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to remain unbroken or unsubdued.
   
   

   Our force by land hath nobly held. Shak.

8. The authority or ground to take or keep; claim.
   
   

   The law hath yet another hold on you. Shak.

9. To have; to possess; to be in possession of; to occupy; to derive title to; as, to hold office.
   
   

   This noble merchant held a noble house. Chaucer.

   Of him to hold his seigniory for a yearly tribute. Knolles.

   And now the strand, and now the plain, they held. Dryden.

10. Not to fail or be found wanting; to continue; to last; to endure a test or trial; to abide; to persist.
    
    

    While our obedience holds. Milton.

    The rule holds in land as all other commodities. Locke.

11. Binding power and influence.
    
    

    Fear . . . by which God and his laws take the surest hold of. Tillotson.

12. To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain.
    
    

    We can not hold mortality's strong hand. Shak.

    Death! what do'st? O, hold thy blow. Grashaw.

    He had not sufficient judgment and self-command to hold his tongue. Macaulay.

13. Not to fall away, desert, or prove recreant; to remain attached; to cleave; -- often with with, to, or for.
    
    

    He will hold to the one and despise the other. Matt. vi. 24

14. Something that may be grasped; means of support.
    
    

    If a man be upon an high place without rails or good hold, he is ready to fall. Bacon.

15. To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain.
    
    

    Hold not thy peace, and be not still. Ps. lxxxiii. 1.

    Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost,
    Shall hold their course. Milton.

16. To restrain one's self; to refrain.
    
    

    His dauntless heart would fain have held
    From weeping, but his eyes rebelled. Dryden.

17. A place of confinement; a prison; confinement; custody; guard.
    
    

    They . . . put them in hold unto the next day. Acts. iv. 3.

    King Richard, he is in the mighty hold
    Of Bolingbroke. Shak.

18. To prosecute, have, take, or join in, as something which is the result of united action; as to, hold a meeting, a festival, a session, etc.; hence, to direct and bring about officially; to conduct or preside at; as, the general held a council of war; a judge holds a court; a clergyman holds a service.
    
    

    I would hold more talk with thee. Shak.

19. To derive right or title; -- generally with of.
    
    

    My crown is absolute, and holds of none. Dryden.

    His imagination holds immediately from nature. Hazlitt.

    Hold on! Hold up! wait; stop; forbear. [Collog] -- To hold forth, to speak in public; to harangue; to preach. L'Estrange. -- To hold in, to restrain one's self; as, he wanted to laugh and could hardly hold in. -- To hold off, to keep at a distance. -- To hold on, to keep fast hold; to continue; to go on. "The trade held on for many years," Swift. -- To hold out, to last; to endure; to continue; to maintain one's self; not to yield or give way. -- To hold over, to remain in office, possession, etc., beyond a certain date. -- To hold to or with, to take sides with, as a person or opinion. -- To hold together, to be joined; not to separate; to remain in union. Dryden. Locke. -- To hold up. (a) To support one's self; to remain unbent or unbroken; as, to hold up under misfortunes. (b) To cease raining; to cease to stop; as, it holds up. Hudibras. (c) To keep up; not to fall behind; not to lose ground. Collier.

20. A place of security; a fortified place; a fort; a castle; -- often called a stronghold.
    
    
    Chaucer.

    New comers in an ancient hold Tennyson.

21. To receive and retain; to contain as a vessel; as, this pail holds milk; hence, to be able to receive and retain; to have capacity or containing power for.
    
    

    Broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jer. ii. 13.

    One sees more devils than vast hell can hold. Shak.

22. A character [thus (?)] placed over or under a note or rest, and indicating that it is to be prolonged; -- called also pause, and corona.
23. To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain.
    
    

    Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught. 2 Thes. ii.15.

    But still he held his purpose to depart. Dryden.

24. To consider; to regard; to esteem; to account; to think; to judge.
    
    

    I hold him but a fool. Shak.

    I shall never hold that man my friend. Shak.

    The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Ex. xx. 7.

25. To bear, carry, or manage; as he holds himself erect; he holds his head high.
    
    

    Let him hold his fingers thus. Shak.

    To hold a wager, to lay or hazard a wager. Swift. -- To hold forth, to offer; to exhibit; to propose; to put forward. "The propositions which books hold forth and pretend to teach." Locke. -- To held in, to restrain; to curd. -- To hold in hand, to toy with; to keep in expectation; to have in one's power. [Obs.]

    O, fie! to receive favors, return falsehoods,
    And hold a lady in hand. Beaw. *** Fl.

    -- To hold in play, to keep under control] to dally with. Macaulay. -- To hold off, to keep at a distance. -- To hold on, to hold in being, continuance or position; as, to hold a rider on. -- To hold one's day, to keep one's appointment. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- To hold one's own. (a) To keep good one's present condition absolutely or relatively; not to fall off, or to lose ground; as, a ship holds her own when she does not lose ground in a race or chase; a man holds his own when he does not lose strength or weight. -- To hold one's peace, to keep silence.- To hold out. (a) To extend; to offer. "Fortune holds out these to you as rewards." B. Jonson. (b) To continue to do or to suffer; to endure. "He can not long hold out these pangs." Shak. -- To hold up. (a) To raise; to lift; as, hold up your head. (b) To support; to sustain. "He holds himself up in virtue."Sir P. Sidney. (c) To exhibit; to display; as, he was held up as an example. (d) To rein in; to check; to halt; as, hold up your horses. -- To hold water. (a) Literally, to retain water without leaking; hence (Fig.), to be whole, sound, consistent, without gaps or holes; -- commonly used in a negative sense; as, his statements will not hold water. [Collog.] (b) (Naut.) To hold the oars steady in the water, thus checking the headway of a boat.