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

• 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

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the U.S. central bank has held off on lowering interest rates this year because of President Trump's tariffs. —Anne Marie D. Lee, CBS News, 1 July 2025

The cool climate and influence of the lakes and mountains allow both grapes to have long, elegant growing seasons (well, if the frost holds off). —Kate Dingwall, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025

The threatening skies thankfully held off until the final looks walked. —Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 30 June 2025

On the other end of the opposition, some hard-right Republicans held off on their votes until the last minute, angling for further spending cuts into the bill in exchange for their support. —Olivia-Anne Cleary, Time, 29 June 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