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

Minnesota led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter and managed to hold off a late Warriors run that closed the gap to nine in the fourth. —Matias Grez, CNN Money, 15 May 2025

California Amid Trump trade war, L.A. urged to hold off on wage hikes for tourism workers May 7, 2025 L.A.’s political leaders have enacted a number of wage laws over the last few decades. —David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2025

Golden State couldn't hold off the attack from the Timberwolves in the second half, leading to Minnesota taking a 2-1 series lead. —Matt Levine, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 May 2025

Oxford figures the central bank will hold off until December. —Paul Davidson, USA Today, 9 May 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