held off

verb

past tense of hold off
1
as in turned back

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in put off

Related Words

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
  • In May, the Court of International Trade turned back another set.
    — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Paige turned back around to find Nikki Bella hitting her with a clothesline.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of turned back
Verb
  • Depending on the severity of a partial UCL tear, rehab and strengthening the muscles around the elbow can sometimes at least put off surgery.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026
  • By agreeing to put off the merger for now, Paramount doesn’t have to face a potential courtroom loss over attorneys generals’ longer-term restraining order, for example.
    — Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of put off
Verb
  • Mali then turned away from its traditional Western partners to Russia — first to the Wagner Group, a private organization that acted as Russia’s diplomatic proxy.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 July 2026
  • Zahra was ultimately turned away at the Moroccan border town of Fnideq and did not enter Ceuta.
    — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 31 July 2026
Definition of turned away
Verb
  • In March 2023, for instance, Honduras broke off formal relations with Taiwan and established ties with Beijing.
    — Natalia Cote-Muñoz, Foreign Affairs, 3 Aug. 2026
  • With the tight ends The Chiefs’ tight ends broke off to work on a blocking drill at the start.
    — Pete Grathoff July 31, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026
Definition of broke off
Verb
  • On a Sunday afternoon in July, while much of the world watched the World Cup final, a counterexample was found to the Jacobian conjecture, a problem that had resisted proof or disproof since 1939.
    — Ashish Bhatia, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
  • Until Tuesday, some rival executives resisted calling the Detroit Tigers on left-hander Tarik Skubal, trying to be respectful as the team fought to remain in contention.
    — Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 28 July 2026
Definition of resisted
Verb
  • Because taxes are generally deferred until distributions are taken, the annual tax impact of interest income may be reduced.
    — David Kudla, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • In addition, opting for a simple immediate or deferred annuity may also help amplify income, the report states.
    — Lorie Konish, CNBC, 29 July 2026
Definition of deferred
Verb
  • The day of that performance in front of the Pope, there were people that opposed it.
    — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2026
  • A number of lawmakers opposed the bill to establish the National Intelligence Bureau, and more than 200 people attended a protest against it in May ahead of the parliamentary vote, according to public broadcaster NHK.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 31 July 2026
Definition of opposed
Verb
  • And, George, the Senate Judiciary Committee, back to Blanche, has rescheduled his confirmation vote for Tuesday after it was abruptly postponed last week.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Stewart, who has a history of thyroid cancer surgery, canceled and postponed concert stops last month following a diagnosis of acute upper respiratory infection, laryngitis and vocal fold strain.
    — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE, 1 Aug. 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)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Held off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20off. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nurture

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All