held off

verb

past tense of hold off
1
as in turned back

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2
as in put off

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held off
  1. turned back
  2. put off
  3. turned away
  4. broke off
  5. resisted
  6. deferred
  7. opposed
  8. postponed
Verb
  • Once firefighters completed their work and determined the building was safe to reenter, the facility was turned back over to Amazon management, and employees were allowed to return to work.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Matt Turner turned back three shots for New England, which saw a four-match win streak end in falling to 11-4-2 at home.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of turned back
Verb
  • All of this means Owens has had to take shifts in the kitchen, putting off her front-of-house duties and paperwork to her evenings and days off.
    — Ayesha Rascoe, NPR, 1 Nov. 2026
  • But anything governing those players will likely get put off until after the labor dispute is resolved.
    — Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of put off
Verb
  • Andrew Thomas turned away seven shots for Seattle — none better than this one on a point-blank shot by Son Heung-min to keep it 2-0 in the 54th minute.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Andrew Thomas turned away seven shots for Seattle — none better than one on a point-blank shot by Son Heung-min to keep it 2-0 in the 54th minute.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of turned away
Verb
  • Ernest took a pretzel from his pocket and broke off pieces for Lyndon Johnson.
    — Madeline ffitch, Harpers Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026
  • After Kao’s 2020 indictment, the University of South Carolina broke off the partnership.
    — Molly Redden, ProPublica, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of broke off
Verb
  • More recently, Newsom has resisted calls to fund Proposition 36, a ballot measure that levies harsher penalties for petty crime that voters overwhelmingly approved in 2024.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2026
  • For Netflix, which has traditionally resisted filmmakers’ efforts to secure theatrical releases for their movies, the film actually represents a first — the first time the streamer has released a movie in Imax.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of resisted
Verb
  • The City Law Department deferred a request for comment to City Hall, which did not immediately respond.
    — Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The deal calls for $35 million annual salaries, including $11 million deferred each year.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of deferred
Verb
  • Backers of Propositions 41 and 42 also opposed Proposition 40.
    — Vanessa Martínez, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The Democrat, who's long been opposed to the death penalty, placed a moratorium on executions in California in 2019.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of opposed
Verb
  • The remainder of the European tour that had been scheduled to run through November has now been postponed.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Deep Purple’s postponed European tour was scheduled to run through November 25.
    — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of postponed
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.

Browse Nearby Words

held (in)
held off
held off (on)
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Cite this Entry

“Held off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20off. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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