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
-
There had been a fear coming into the week that the players might cause a work stoppage that would have postponed the season-opening game.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
8 Mar. 2026 -
Third, February’s report will include some annual revisions that were postponed due to the historic government shutdown this past fall.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The judge reminded the court that Cox filed the motion in January 2026 and refused to delay the hearing.—
Amy DeLaura,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Mar. 2026
-
The upcoming feature, which will allow users to generate adult content using the chatbot for the first time, has been delayed.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But there have also been recent moments when Eklund has deferred a bit too often, opting for an extra pass when a shot on net would have been the better option.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Health policy experts say the federal government's actions to withhold and defer funding break with normal fraud-handling precedent.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
5 Mar. 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 12 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
