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 of hold off

• postpone
• delay
• defer
• put over

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

The Lakers led by 15 in the first half, Houston came back and then the Lakers rebuilt a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and held off the Rockets down the stretch. —Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026

Late rally lifts Faith Christian past FWC Grapevine Faith Christian rallied to score 5 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning then held off Fort Worth Christian 10-9 in a TAPPS Division II District 1 contest on Monday at Faith Christian School. —Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2026

The Lakers, who have the NBA’s best clutch record, held off a second-half Houston surge to win Tuesday night. —Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026

School officials quickly distanced themselves from the group that organized the event, noting that SUPER UW was no longer affiliated with the University and that the event was being held off campus. —Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026

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