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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Recent Examples of held out
Meanwhile, Horford has played over 30 minutes twice this season, Porzingis not once since joining the Warriors in February, and both have struggled with injuries all season while being held out of both sides of back-to-backs.
—
Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2026
James and Luke Kennard were held out of the second half as a precautionary measure, and the Lakers closed the regular season on a three-game winning streak.
—CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026
Cade Cunningham, who would be a candidate for MVP and first-team All-NBA, needs two games to qualify for awards and will probably be held out of Sunday’s contest.
—Joe Vardon, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2026
James and Luke Kennard were held out of the second half as a precautionary measure, and the Lakers closed the regular season on a three-game winning streak.
—ABC News, 12 Apr. 2026
Among the most experienced muralists were the Cohen building artists, and the phrase social security held out untapped possibilities for invention.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
Powell’s right groin didn’t force him to miss games again until late February and early March, when he was held out of seven straight games because of another right groin strain.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Trump held out hope that supposed new Iranian leadership may make concessions before the deadline of 8 pm Eastern time.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2026
Although Barron held out hope that the mother of two would be found alive, two weeks later Brown’s body was discovered buried in dirt under a pile of pallets at a warehouse in nearby Royersford.
—Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 4 Apr. 2026
Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2026
James and Luke Kennard were held out of the second half as a precautionary measure, and the Lakers closed the regular season on a three-game winning streak.
—CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026
Cade Cunningham, who would be a candidate for MVP and first-team All-NBA, needs two games to qualify for awards and will probably be held out of Sunday’s contest.
—Joe Vardon, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2026
James and Luke Kennard were held out of the second half as a precautionary measure, and the Lakers closed the regular season on a three-game winning streak.
—ABC News, 12 Apr. 2026
Among the most experienced muralists were the Cohen building artists, and the phrase social security held out untapped possibilities for invention.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
Powell’s right groin didn’t force him to miss games again until late February and early March, when he was held out of seven straight games because of another right groin strain.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Trump held out hope that supposed new Iranian leadership may make concessions before the deadline of 8 pm Eastern time.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2026
Although Barron held out hope that the mother of two would be found alive, two weeks later Brown’s body was discovered buried in dirt under a pile of pallets at a warehouse in nearby Royersford.
—Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 4 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for held out
Verb
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One of the children who somehow survived the slaughter grew up to be the maternal grandfather of Vermeer.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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The risk of getting a new cancer also looked about the same whether researchers focused on people who had already survived five years or looked at their risk over their entire lifetime.—
Tesfaye Negussie,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Surprisingly, firing a slew of hard-working people in order to flatter the bottom line didn’t make for a happier workplace — or for more equitable business practices (a trio of strikes popped off in February of 2025, two of which lasted for 58 days).—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
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The backlash from the incident lasted for weeks.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The president’s party is more vigorous in Virginia, where Harris prevailed by just 6 points but Spanberger won by a landslide.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
14 Apr. 2026
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Despite uncertainty about the next contract’s specific provisions and concerns about the state of production in New York, a mood of celebration prevailed.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Held out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20out. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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