HELD UP Synonyms: 240 Similar and Opposite Words

held up

verb

Definition of held up next

past tense of hold up

as in postponed

to assign to a later time held up mail delivery until we had a permanent address

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Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stopped

to bring (something) to a standstill traffic was held up for miles by the accident

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as in hampered

to create difficulty for the work or activity of if lack of transportation is the only thing holding you up, I can give you a ride

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as in survived

to continue to operate or to meet one's needs the air conditioner held up this year, but it's not going to make it through another summer

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as in remained

to remain indefinitely in existence or in the same state the storm's hurricane-force winds did not hold up once it hit the coast

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as in flew

to withstand scrutiny and gain acceptance or approval an argument that won't hold up in court

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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 up Manny DelCarmen launched a solo home run to give East Bridgewater a lead which held up in a 6-5 win over South Shore League foe Cohasset. —

Tyler McManus, Boston Herald, 16 Apr. 2026 Before Brubaker’s next pitch, rookie catcher Daniel Susac held up a single index finger. —

Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026 In recent days, another leak—of a call between Orbán and Vladimir Putin—has been held up as evidence of the former’s subservience. —

Kapil Komireddi, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2026 Her Majesty paraded in a low-cut body clinging outfit which was held up by sheer willpower. —

Joshua John Miller, Vanity Fair, 9 Apr. 2026 When all was said and done, my feet had held up pretty well — with no adverse repercussions whatsoever. —

Chi Varnado, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026 As Soler began walking toward the mound, López held up his hands as the two glared at each other before both started throwing punches. —

ABC News, 8 Apr. 2026 Suzuki held up his hand in the direction of the field before deciding to challenge. —

Jay Cohen, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026 N'dea Yancey-Bragg Senator Alex Padilla, D-California, held up his own copy of the Constitution and a protest sign to stress the clarity of the language in the 14th Amendment. —

Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held up

Verb

Trump has postponed a summit with his counterpart, Xi Jinping, to May.

— Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 14 Apr. 2026
This will be the biggest double gameweek of the season, with another probable double for Manchester City and Crystal Palace scheduled to arrive later on, with these two teams having had their Gameweek 31 fixture postponed for the Carabao Cup final last month.

— Holly Shand, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026