1
as in to postpone
to assign to a later time
held up mail delivery until we had a permanent address
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stop
to bring (something) to a standstill
traffic was held up for miles by the accident
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to hamper
to create difficulty for the work or activity of
if lack of transportation is the only thing holding you up, I can give you a ride
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to survive
to continue to operate or to meet one's needs
the air conditioner held up this year, but it's not going to make it through another summer
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to remain
to remain indefinitely in existence or in the same state
the storm's hurricane-force winds did not hold up once it hit the coast
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in to fly
to withstand scrutiny and gain acceptance or approval
an argument that won't hold up in court
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in delay
an instance or period of being prevented from going about one's business
a holdup in construction due to the weather
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hold up
Zev Fima, CNBC, 2 June 2026
Her music owned up to being horny, garish, and superficial, but could scan as thin or cheap when held up to other kinds of ethical or political scrutiny.
—Harry Tafoya, Pitchfork, 2 June 2026
ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2026
His gang reportedly was involved in at least 20 murders, 100 holdups and 150 burglaries.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hold up
Verb
The share price bubble argument does not hold up at the moment, as the valuations are, incredibly, holding steady or slightly declining due to earnings growth.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 2 June 2026
Her music owned up to being horny, garish, and superficial, but could scan as thin or cheap when held up to other kinds of ethical or political scrutiny.
—Harry Tafoya, Pitchfork, 2 June 2026
Noun
That gene, called rplW, seems to be the critical holdup.
—ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2026
His gang reportedly was involved in at least 20 murders, 100 holdups and 150 burglaries.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hold up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hold up
Verb
-
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons previously postponed several tour dates scheduled for April to later in the summer.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
30 May 2026
-
On Wednesday, the Barrington Township Republican Organization postponed a fundraising dinner scheduled for the following day after inquiries from the Tribune.—
Dan Petrella,
Chicago Tribune,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
In order to secure the funds, the family members submitted fake financial instruments and money orders, continuing to do so even after the IRS sent them letters telling them to stop, according to the statement.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 June 2026
-
The order, which Trump signed in private on June 2, stops short of mandating that the federal government conduct safety evaluations and cybersecurity testing for advanced AI products.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Roupp’s night, though, comes with a caveat because the righty was hampered by back discomfort.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
2 June 2026
-
Reducing false positives and negatives Real-world conditions such as poor lighting, difficult viewing angles, extreme facial expressions, concealment by face masks or sunglasses, and poor image quality can still hamper performance, leading to faulty identification.—
Vijayan Asari,
The Conversation,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Two men died and one woman survived a helicopter crash leaving a wedding in North Georgia on Friday night, the coroner confirmed.—
Samantha Hogan,
AJC.com,
1 June 2026
-
There's no doubt that when temperatures start to rise and approach 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the only way to survive is to find places with fans or air conditioning, or, if possible, escape to the beach or pool to cool off.—
Marilú Almaguer,
Glamour,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
With approximately 56% of votes counted, analysts say Steyer would need to outperform Becerra by roughly 12 points in remaining ballots to advance to November.—
Ruyuan Li. Story produced with AI assistance,
Sacbee.com,
5 June 2026
-
If caught in a rip current, remain calm.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
5 June 2026
Verb
-
Starship and Blue Moon both have a ways to go before NASA will certify the vehicles to fly astronauts, so any time lost on that front by Blue Origin could further narrow NASA's options and increase the risk of setbacks to the agency's lunar landing timeline.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
3 June 2026
-
To better understand the challenges Blue Origin now faces, Ars spoke with several SpaceX veterans who experienced the AMOS-6 failure and worked the long days afterward to get the Falcon 9 rocket flying and rebuild the shattered facility at Space Launch Complex-40.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Sanfilippo is a fatal pediatric neurodegenerative disorder, with each delay in treatment equaling permanent neurological decline.—
Elise Esposito,
Boston Herald,
29 May 2026
-
Artemis program Due to the Mark 1 issues outlined above, there will either be significant delays to, or the need to restructure the early phases of, the Moon Base program.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
29 May 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
Cite this Entry
“Hold up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hold%20up. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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