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

Suffolk County acting Supreme Court Justice Joseph Farneti held off on ruling so both sides could negotiate, said Vincent Toomey, a lawyer for the Village of Sag Harbor. —Dennis Romero, NBC news, 3 Mar. 2026

Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a news conference on Wednesday that the federal government would hold off on paying $259 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota. —CBS News, 3 Mar. 2026

Monday night, behind Walker’s 22 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, the Hornets held off Windsor 69-65 to win the CCC championship for the first time since 1998 at the University of Hartford. —Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, 3 Mar. 2026

Reddick held off hard-charging Shane van Gisbergen over the final 20 laps at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday to become the first Cup Series driver to win the first three races of the season. —Jim Vertuno, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 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