hold off
verb
held off; holding off; holds off
1
: to block from an objective : delay
2
: to defer action on : postpone
hold off a decision
3
: to fight to a standoff : withstand
: to defer or temporarily stop doing something
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
Olympian holds off Carlsbad In the Holiday Classic Tip-Off opener, Olympian’s Matthew Huertas scored 27 points on nine 3-pointers to lift the Eagles to an 82-77 victory over Carlsbad.
—
Breven Honda, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Dec. 2025
Assume recent interest rate drops will continue indefinitely The idea of holding off on a home purchase in hopes of lower mortgage rates is tempting, but any rate drop that occurs in 2026 may be modest, says Dan Wetzel, senior vice president of mortgage lending at APG Federal Credit Union.
—Tim Maxwell, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025
However, in a bit of a twist, the full slopocalypse may be held off for a bit.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025
Fortunately, the Frost would be able to hold off the Fleet as their opponents sacrificed their goalie for the last minute of the game for an extra attacker.
—Theodore Tollefson, Twin Cities, 20 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hold off
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.
Breven Honda, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Dec. 2025
Assume recent interest rate drops will continue indefinitely The idea of holding off on a home purchase in hopes of lower mortgage rates is tempting, but any rate drop that occurs in 2026 may be modest, says Dan Wetzel, senior vice president of mortgage lending at APG Federal Credit Union.
—Tim Maxwell, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025
However, in a bit of a twist, the full slopocalypse may be held off for a bit.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025
Fortunately, the Frost would be able to hold off the Fleet as their opponents sacrificed their goalie for the last minute of the game for an extra attacker.
—Theodore Tollefson, Twin Cities, 20 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hold off
Cite this Entry
“Hold off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hold%20off. Accessed 29 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share