as in survived
to continue to operate or to meet one's needs
we hoped our supply of firewood would hold out until power was restored luckily, the old outboard motor held out till we made it to shore
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of held out
He also was held out of two of Canada’s six games in Milan, Italy.
—
Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
Could the Bills have held out, called the Bears’ bluff and tried to get them down to a third-round pick?
—Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
England held out and got Underhill back.
—ABC News, 7 Mar. 2026
Kesselman ran into Joe (Concert Joe) Sarkis, a bearded seventy-two-year-old music-scene fixture, who held out a copy of High Times’ May, 1976, issue.
—Mark Yarm, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Mayer has been held out of game action so far in order to give the second-year infielder time to ramp up more slowly after undergoing season-ending wrist surgery last summer.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Prior to being held out of Saturday night’s victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, Jovic had fallen out of the rotation, playing only three minutes of mop-up duty in Friday night’s road victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
Operation Mincemeat held out until the longest, with producers hoping to proceed with a Sunday night show that would have marked the final performance of the musical’s original British cast; eventually the performance was canceled, with the cast performing a livestream concert version instead.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2026
He was held out the rest of the way, according to the NBC broadcast.
—CBS News, 20 Feb. 2026
Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
Could the Bills have held out, called the Bears’ bluff and tried to get them down to a third-round pick?
—Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
England held out and got Underhill back.
—ABC News, 7 Mar. 2026
Kesselman ran into Joe (Concert Joe) Sarkis, a bearded seventy-two-year-old music-scene fixture, who held out a copy of High Times’ May, 1976, issue.
—Mark Yarm, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Mayer has been held out of game action so far in order to give the second-year infielder time to ramp up more slowly after undergoing season-ending wrist surgery last summer.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Prior to being held out of Saturday night’s victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, Jovic had fallen out of the rotation, playing only three minutes of mop-up duty in Friday night’s road victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
Operation Mincemeat held out until the longest, with producers hoping to proceed with a Sunday night show that would have marked the final performance of the musical’s original British cast; eventually the performance was canceled, with the cast performing a livestream concert version instead.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2026
He was held out the rest of the way, according to the NBC broadcast.
—CBS News, 20 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for held out
Verb
-
McDonald is survived by his wife of 43 years, Kathy; his five children, Seven, Devin, Ryan, Tara Taylor and Emily; a brother, Billy; and four grandchildren.—
Cerys Davies,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
-
She is survived by her husband, Todd Corman, and their two children.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Blackouts that once lasted hours now can go on for days.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
7 Mar. 2026
-
An eighth-grader at Maranatha Christian School won the county spelling bee Thursday, beating his closest rival after a one-on-one face-off that lasted 13 rounds.—
Jemma Stephenson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But Pitt prevailed largely on the strength of a 20-7 advantage on the offensive boards, outscoring Stanford 25-7 in second-chance points and by 12 in the paint.—
Laurence Miedema,
Mercury News,
10 Mar. 2026
-
There, behind eight three-point field goals from Grant Rodriguez, the Titans prevailed 69-61, setting up the title showdown against Birmingham.—
Steve Brand,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Held out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20out. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
