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
-
Shortly after the raid, swap meet officials postponed the concert.—
Jasmine Mendez,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2025 -
The Duchess of Sussex's weekend plans changed after the Los Angeles museum gala she was set to attend on June 14 was postponed amid protests in the city against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
15 June 2025
Verb
-
So far, the administration has ended or delayed nearly 2,500 NIH grants, including some related to researching blood glucose.—
Olga Khazan,
The Atlantic,
19 June 2025
-
Service businesses face real-time cost pressures that cannot be warehoused or delayed.—
Kara Dennison,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
Verb
-
The trend reached its apex with Ohtani, who agreed to defer 98 percent of his windfall until after his playing contract ends; the team is paying him just $2 million per season while using his celebrity to rake in untold millions through new sponsorships with Japanese companies.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
-
Service businesses, however, cannot stockpile labor or defer rising operational costs, forcing them to adjust prices.—
Kara Dennison,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
Verb
-
Together, these buyers put over $21 billion in the U.S. housing market last year.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
-
McAfee put over Michael Cole for dedicating 28 years of his life to this business.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
5 May 2025
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 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share