HELD OUT Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

held out

verb

past tense of hold out

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

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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 out De’Anthony Melton and Kristaps Porzingis were both being held out of the first leg of a back-to-back. —

Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2026 The outcome was not unexpected, though negotiators had held out some hope that a new contract could be reached in March. —

Gene Maddaus, Variety, 16 Mar. 2026 On a Monday in March, Dulce Delgado, a 37-year-old woman living in a tent on a hill, held out her hand. —

Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026 Ryan was originally slated to be part of Team USA’s rotation, but he was scratched from his first spring start due to lower back inflammation and held out of pool play entirely. —

Johnny Flores Jr, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2026 He also was held out of two of Canada’s six games in Milan, Italy. —

Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 9 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held out

Verb

The final game of their regular season slate was a thriller against rival Ohio in which the Redhawks survived in overtime to cap off the undefeated regular season.

— SportsDay Staff, Dallas Morning News, 16 Mar. 2026
The commission, which was established by statute in 1987 and serves as a bridge between the government and the state’s growing Latino population, has now survived two attempts to defund or eliminate it.

— Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 16 Mar. 2026