as in limited
to set bounds or an upper limit for
efforts to hold down taxes keep running up against the legislature's ingrained unwillingness to cut spending
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Recent Examples of held down
While Yamamoto held down the fort, the Dodgers batters did the rest of the work.
—
Ben Morse, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2025
Last year, a Yankees fan pried the ball out of the glove of Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts, and another held down his wrist in the first inning of Game 4 of the World Series.
—Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
Renee Rosnes, a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective and prolific bandleader and composer in her own right, has held down the Foursight piano chair since 2011.
—Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 17 Sep. 2025
More Kathryn Riley/Getty Images While free agent acquisition Carlton Davis III held down the right side of the secondary in pass coverage, the left was manned by an ensemble of Alex Austin, Marcus Jones and Charles Woods filling in for Gonzalez, with mixed results at best.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Solarization is the process of killing a lawn or an expanse of weeds by soaking it with a hose or a sprinkler system and then covering it with clear plastic, held down by rocks or bricks.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 11 Sep. 2025
Students described being held down and having teammates rub their genitals on their faces, being groped in locker rooms, and in some cases penetrated with a broomstick.
—Hannah Dreyfus, AZCentral.com, 31 Aug. 2025
My mother held down three jobs at one time to support us.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2025
Bob Sirott and John Records Landecker, who held down afternoon and evening shifts respectively for much of the 1970s on WLS, are reuniting on the air at WGN for a three-hour tour of anecdotes, DJ interviews, vintage jingles and listener calls.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
Ben Morse, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2025
Last year, a Yankees fan pried the ball out of the glove of Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts, and another held down his wrist in the first inning of Game 4 of the World Series.
—Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
Renee Rosnes, a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective and prolific bandleader and composer in her own right, has held down the Foursight piano chair since 2011.
—Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 17 Sep. 2025
More Kathryn Riley/Getty Images While free agent acquisition Carlton Davis III held down the right side of the secondary in pass coverage, the left was manned by an ensemble of Alex Austin, Marcus Jones and Charles Woods filling in for Gonzalez, with mixed results at best.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Solarization is the process of killing a lawn or an expanse of weeds by soaking it with a hose or a sprinkler system and then covering it with clear plastic, held down by rocks or bricks.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 11 Sep. 2025
Students described being held down and having teammates rub their genitals on their faces, being groped in locker rooms, and in some cases penetrated with a broomstick.
—Hannah Dreyfus, AZCentral.com, 31 Aug. 2025
My mother held down three jobs at one time to support us.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2025
Bob Sirott and John Records Landecker, who held down afternoon and evening shifts respectively for much of the 1970s on WLS, are reuniting on the air at WGN for a three-hour tour of anecdotes, DJ interviews, vintage jingles and listener calls.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for held down
Verb
-
In fact, Trump’s gripes with Beijing were mostly limited to the amount of goods China purchased from the United States, and so much of his attention was spent on direct negotiations with Xi that tried to address the trade deficit.—
Mira Rapp-Hooper,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
And boards often fill open seats relying on their immediate networks, which can be limited.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Shalom restricted access to the pond afterward, records show.—
Quinn Clark,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
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Those opportunities will now be restricted.—
Andy Mitten,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Held down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20down. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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