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
Fisheries managers on rivers like the Platte still held out a little, allowing any angler to keep one trout longer than 20 inches.
—
Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 30 Oct. 2025
The team did imaging on his thumb this week, which led to Dalton being held out of practice on Wednesday.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 29 Oct. 2025
The 28-year-old will be held out of what could be a future playoff preview.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Complicating matters, the 30-year-old MLS newcomer was held out of the past two games, Varas disciplining him for a tantrum after the coach benched him at halftime three weeks ago in Houston.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Oct. 2025
Fans held out hope that Frehley and Peter Criss would pop up at the event and give the world the proper goodbye they were denied on the second farewell tour.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
Jakucionis was held out of Monday’s exhibition in Atlanta because of right hip soreness that forced him to exit Sunday’s preseason loss to the Magic early.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
In camp, while starter Terry McLaurin held out because of his contract stalemate and Noah Brown recovered from a knee injury, McCaffrey took most of the first-team reps, moving all over the line.
—Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Coach Witten said Cooper has been battling through some leg and ankle injuries and thus was held out of the offense in this game.
—Mike Waters, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Oct. 2025
Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 30 Oct. 2025
The team did imaging on his thumb this week, which led to Dalton being held out of practice on Wednesday.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 29 Oct. 2025
The 28-year-old will be held out of what could be a future playoff preview.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Complicating matters, the 30-year-old MLS newcomer was held out of the past two games, Varas disciplining him for a tantrum after the coach benched him at halftime three weeks ago in Houston.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Oct. 2025
Fans held out hope that Frehley and Peter Criss would pop up at the event and give the world the proper goodbye they were denied on the second farewell tour.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
Jakucionis was held out of Monday’s exhibition in Atlanta because of right hip soreness that forced him to exit Sunday’s preseason loss to the Magic early.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
In camp, while starter Terry McLaurin held out because of his contract stalemate and Noah Brown recovered from a knee injury, McCaffrey took most of the first-team reps, moving all over the line.
—Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Coach Witten said Cooper has been battling through some leg and ankle injuries and thus was held out of the offense in this game.
—Mike Waters, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for held out
Verb
-
The child survived the attack and was brought to a nearby hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries, according to the ODFW.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Harley was wounded twice but survived the war dying in Adelaide in 1934 of a cancer his family say was caused by him being gassed by the Germans in the trenches.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Each workout lasted two hours and included strength training, plus 20 minutes on both the StairMaster and cross trainer.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
-
Addison Barger flew out on one pitch, Ernie Clement lasted just two deliveries and multiple Jays were out on three.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In the teams’ 2020 meeting, at an empty stadium because of COVID-19, the Chiefs prevailed in the first meeting between Mahomes and Bills counterpart Josh Allen.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The Bucks prevailed 155-154 in five overtimes, still the longest game in the shot-clock era.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Held out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20out. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share