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
-
Adding to the fire is Landry's move to postpone the House primaries in the nationwide redistricting battle -- even as absentee ballots had been returned -- while keeping the Senate race on May 16.—
Gaby Vinick,
ABC News,
16 May 2026 -
Due to heavy rains and high water levels in the Fox River in late April, the Fox Valley Park District postponed the event, set for April 25 in order to celebrate Earth Day, to May 16.—
David Sharos,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Alexis Mac Allister, whose fall from grace this season has been akin to Fabinho’s stark decline in 2022-23, stupidly delayed the taking of a Villa corner with some playacting which even prompted Slot to tell him to get up.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
-
Air Charter Service offers an eclipse charter flight from London Stansted Airport that gives eclipse chasers flexibility by delaying the final destination decision until close to departure day, allowing organizers to target the clearest skies.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Sellers can opt to defer such work to the buyer and each party puts $2,500 in a city escrow account to be used by the purchaser to come into compliance.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
19 May 2026
-
Though the temptation is to defer this work, the cost will show up later.—
Paul Manns,
Forbes.com,
18 May 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 22 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
