Main Entry:

toe·hold

Pronunciation:

\ˈtō-ˌhōld\

Function:

noun

Date:

1880

1 a: a hold or place of support for the toes (as in climbing) b (1): a means of progressing (as in surmounting barriers) (2): a slight footing <used his money to get a toehold, then a foothold, then a near stranglehold on the political economy — R. W. Armstrong>2: an illegal wrestling hold in which the aggressor bends or twists the other wrestler's foot