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
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
In 2021, as officers held down a Taylor man who had fled from a traffic stop, Furman allegedly kicked the man multiple times in his leg and ankle while he was being handcuffed.
—Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Their shelter is a patch of plastic and tarp held down by rocks, near the edge of a displacement zone in southwest Deir al-Balah, where Israel was engaged in a military operation from July 20 to 22.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Atlantic, 5 Aug. 2025
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
In 2021, as officers held down a Taylor man who had fled from a traffic stop, Furman allegedly kicked the man multiple times in his leg and ankle while he was being handcuffed.
—Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Their shelter is a patch of plastic and tarp held down by rocks, near the edge of a displacement zone in southwest Deir al-Balah, where Israel was engaged in a military operation from July 20 to 22.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Atlantic, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for held down
Verb
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In the 1980s in the United States, only one in four women were getting screened for breast cancer, and access to screening technology was limited, Sivendran said.—
Dr. Noor Shaik,
ABC News,
1 Oct. 2025
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The Department of Health and Human Services warns that the Food and Drug Administration’s public health oversight will be scaled back, with routine inspections limited.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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How to Get Around Uber is the most trusted way around the city for visitors, with rides that are cheap and reliable, except for the airport, where the ride-share app is restricted.—
David Shortell,
Travel + Leisure,
28 Sep. 2025
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Poland scrambled fighter jets and temporarily restricted parts of its airspace on Sunday following the Russian attack.—
Emma Marsden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Held down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20down. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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