as in to postpone
to assign to a later time
we held off on accepting the invitation in the hopes that something better would come along
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hold off (on)
Verb
-
Rolling the dice As insurance costs climb, many homeowners are postponing major life decisions and cutting back elsewhere.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
6 June 2026 -
The North American leg of Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE’s Home on the Range tour has been postponed.—
Alex Suskind,
Pitchfork,
5 June 2026
Verb
-
Wembanyama has allowed Robinson to delay his decision-making.—
Mark Medina,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
-
The game was delayed 1 hour, 7 minutes due to rain and lightning.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
The meeting was ultimately deferred at the Fontainebleau’s request after one of the board members didn’t show up.—
Aaron Leibowitz,
Miami Herald,
2 June 2026
-
At the end of March, the Browns and Garrett agreed to a contract modification that deferred a total of $29 million in bonus payments over the next three years.—
Jourdan Rodrigue,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
This is a great sign, seeing as Reflect Orbital's ultimate hope is to put over 50,000 satellites in Earth orbit by the year 2035.—
Monisha Ravisetti,
Space.com,
5 Mar. 2026
-
When the rudder is put over, the stern swings out first, so that if the vessel is in restricted waters, trying to avoid something ahead can result in hitting something behind.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
5 Jan. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Hold off (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hold%20off%20%28on%29. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
