hold off

verb

held off; holding off; holds off

transitive verb

1

: to block from an objective : delay

2

: to defer action on : postpone

hold off a decision

3

: to fight to a standoff : withstand

intransitive verb

: to defer or temporarily stop doing something

Synonyms

• defer
• delay
• hold over
• hold up
• lay over
• postpone
• put off
• put over
• remit
• shelve

Examples of hold off in a Sentence

we held off on accepting the invitation in the hopes that something better would come along

Recent Examples on the Web

Matt Strahm gave up two consecutive singles but induced a double play and a groundout to hold off the Marlins. —Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2025

Lap 127: Kyle Larson dominated the back half of the opening stage and held off Denny Hamlin at the end. —Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 13 Apr. 2025

McFadden held off on implementing his order for a week, giving the government time to respond or appeal. —David Bauder, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2025

His announcement comes as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., threatened a lawsuit against Abbott last week, alleging that Abbott was holding off on calling a special election date, according to NBC News. —Sudiksha Kochi, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for hold off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

hold off

verb

1

: to keep away : withstand

held off the attack

2

: postpone, delay

decided to hold off on the decision

will hold off production for the summer