HELD ON Synonyms: 56 Similar and Opposite Words

held on

verb

past tense of hold on

as in remained

to remain indefinitely in existence or in the same state the ancient beliefs still held on in remote mountain villages

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in waited

to remain in place in readiness or expectation of something hold on a minute—it's not your turn

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 on Two years after the engagement, the wedding was held on June 6, 2026 at Château Bellefont-Belcier in Saint-Émilion, France. — Alexandra MacOn, Vogue, 10 Aug. 2026 Alba Caño and Amanda Gutierres each scored in the second half to pull Boston (5-10-5) within one, but Portland (10-6-4) held on in the highest-scoring NWSL match of the season. — ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026 Almanza was charged with threatening to commit an act of mass violence on school property and is currently being held on a $1 million bond in the Faulkner County jail. — Daniel McFadin, Arkansas Online, 4 Aug. 2026 The 15-year-old is being held on suspicion of three counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. — Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 28 July 2026 Singer-songwriter events are held on select Mondays, while regular hours are concentrated around Thursday through Saturday. — Noel Burgess, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026 The news was first reported at a press conference held on July 15 by the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan Area of Naples (Soprintendenza ABAP Napoli), which supervised the excavation. — Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 20 July 2026 Under the agreement, OAC would pay $110 million plus 6% of all future annual gross ticket sales from events held on the site. — Tim Fang, CBS News, 13 July 2026 Still, Thomas Tuchel’s side held on to win an entertaining contest. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 11 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held on

Verb

Stokesberry said the skies have remained free of uncrewed aircraft since Monday, which has allowed fire crews to attack from above and below.

— Morgan Chesky, NBC news, 6 Aug. 2026
By age 85, only 7% of the adults with three risk factors remained dementia-free, compared with 35% of those with no risk factors.

— Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of remained

Verb

Workers have registered their numbers to get paid through mobile money transactions, signed attendance sheets and waited for payment notifications, but only some were eventually paid.

— ABC News, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026
The three sat inside their cars, out of the hot August gloom, and waited.

— Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of waited

Verb

Alex Lange smoothly handled the seventh, but lefty Aaron Bummer only lasted 20 pitches into the eighth inning and allowed a Josh Bell RBI single to cut the lead to 3-2 before he was replaced by right-hander Nate Pearson.

— PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 7 Aug. 2026
Her dad decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, and started his own restaurant that lasted for 28 years.

— Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of lasted

Verb

The fascination persisted, though Burke often undercut it with humor and self-deprecation.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2026
Although the accord succeeded in disarming one of the region’s most influential insurgent groups, violence has persisted and in some areas escalated because the broader conditions driving conflict were left largely intact.

— Dylan Spencer, The Conversation, 4 Aug. 2026