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
Police report that LaBeouf was again held down until authorities arrived on the scene.
—
Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Feb. 2026
Mornings With Mero replaces Ebro in the Morning—hosted by Ebro Darden, Peter Rosenberg, and Laura Stylez—which held down the AM slot for years before the show was unexpectedly cancelled in December.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
The car was shipped in an open carrier truck, and the car was held down with straps on the tires, nothing tied to the undercarriage.
—John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 5 Feb. 2026
In one incident captured by the brothers on January 21, a clash erupted between protesters and federal agents — which ended in someone being pepper sprayed directly in the face while they were held down by three agents.
—Sophia Peyser, CNN Money, 2 Feb. 2026
Pretti then appeared to be held down on his hands and knees before an agent seemingly struck him repeatedly with an object toward his head, according to USA Today.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2026
Brown served as a team captain for the second straight season and held down left tackle for an offensive line that’s in as good of shape as any since quarterback Joe Burrow arrived.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
But after more than an hour, agents held down Zapata Rivera’s arms.
—Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 13 Jan. 2026
Rachel, Helen, and Zoe watch as she’s held down against her will.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 9 Jan. 2026
Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Feb. 2026
Mornings With Mero replaces Ebro in the Morning—hosted by Ebro Darden, Peter Rosenberg, and Laura Stylez—which held down the AM slot for years before the show was unexpectedly cancelled in December.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
The car was shipped in an open carrier truck, and the car was held down with straps on the tires, nothing tied to the undercarriage.
—John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 5 Feb. 2026
In one incident captured by the brothers on January 21, a clash erupted between protesters and federal agents — which ended in someone being pepper sprayed directly in the face while they were held down by three agents.
—Sophia Peyser, CNN Money, 2 Feb. 2026
Pretti then appeared to be held down on his hands and knees before an agent seemingly struck him repeatedly with an object toward his head, according to USA Today.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2026
Brown served as a team captain for the second straight season and held down left tackle for an offensive line that’s in as good of shape as any since quarterback Joe Burrow arrived.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
But after more than an hour, agents held down Zapata Rivera’s arms.
—Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 13 Jan. 2026
Rachel, Helen, and Zoe watch as she’s held down against her will.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for held down
Verb
-
We are limited only by our imagination as to the best use of this wonderful site.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
16 Feb. 2026
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While stripes are a natural fit for kids’ rooms, they’re certainly not limited there.—
Kristina McGuirk,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And despite the huge crowds on earlier days, the CEOs of OpenAI, DeepMind, and Anthropic delivered their remarks to a more than half-empty hall on Thursday, after entry to the venue was restricted at short notice, apparently for security reasons.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
20 Feb. 2026
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Israel restricted the number of Palestinians allowed to enter from the West Bank to 10,000 on Friday, and allowed only men over 55 and women over 50 as well as children up to 12.—
Sam Mednick,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Held down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20down. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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