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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hold off (on)
Verb
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The city of Cudahy has postponed its Independence Day Celebration that was set for Thursday, July 3.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
28 June 2025 -
The item needs to come back to the commission for final approval, at which point it would be sent to voters on the November ballot — now in a special election since the main election has been postponed.—
Tess Riski,
Miami Herald,
27 June 2025
Verb
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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
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Service businesses face real-time cost pressures that cannot be warehoused or delayed.—
Kara Dennison,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
Verb
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Service businesses, however, cannot stockpile labor or defer rising operational costs, forcing them to adjust prices.—
Kara Dennison,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
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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
Verb
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Together, these buyers put over $21 billion in the U.S. housing market last year.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
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McAfee put over Michael Cole for dedicating 28 years of his life to this business.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
5 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Hold off (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hold%20off%20%28on%29. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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