hold against
phrasal verb
held against; holding against; holds against
: to use (something) as a reason to have a bad opinion of (someone)
He lied to her once, and she still holds it against him.
Nobody is going to hold it against you if you don't come.
Examples of hold against in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
If some late arrivals to the SDFC party, which began in February, have never heard of star wing Anders Dreyer and wouldn’t recognize captain Jeppe Tverskov, it won’t be held against them.
—
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2025
This voyeurism will later be held against Helm during the puritanical trend (big misunderstanding).
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
The remaining stretch will test whether the distribution holds against top units and across the attrition of a long NFL season.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Mirella has since spoken out, saying she was not being held against her will.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hold against
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2025
This voyeurism will later be held against Helm during the puritanical trend (big misunderstanding).
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
The remaining stretch will test whether the distribution holds against top units and across the attrition of a long NFL season.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Mirella has since spoken out, saying she was not being held against her will.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hold against
Cite this Entry
“Hold against.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hold%20against. Accessed 27 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share