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as in to put off
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Recent Examples of hold off
Stolz needed to hold off on celebrating until another competitor got the chance for a reskate, then soon enough was able to smile while leaning forward to receive his gold for winning the men’s 1,000 meters at the Milan Cortina Games in an Olympic-record time.
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Howard Fendrich, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
Rain chances will hold off until the afternoon.
—Newsroom Meteorologist, Austin American Statesman, 10 Feb. 2026
Rain chances will hold off until the afternoon with some light spotty showers at first before becoming more scattered as the evening marches on.
—Mary Wasson, San Antonio Express-News, 10 Feb. 2026
Despite stumbling on a quad lutz jump and forgoing a quad axel for a triple, Malinin’s score of 200 points was enough to hold off a clean and graceful program by Japan’s Shun Sato for the overall gold.
—Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hold off
Howard Fendrich, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
Rain chances will hold off until the afternoon.
—Newsroom Meteorologist, Austin American Statesman, 10 Feb. 2026
Rain chances will hold off until the afternoon with some light spotty showers at first before becoming more scattered as the evening marches on.
—Mary Wasson, San Antonio Express-News, 10 Feb. 2026
Despite stumbling on a quad lutz jump and forgoing a quad axel for a triple, Malinin’s score of 200 points was enough to hold off a clean and graceful program by Japan’s Shun Sato for the overall gold.
—Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hold off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hold off
Verb
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He was arrested and booked into Imperial County Jail on suspicion of murder and resisting a peace officer.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
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Yoon was first detained in January 2025 after resisting attempts to arrest him in a weeks-long standoff with authorities at his home in Seoul.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Remember family movie night, put off yesterday during the frozen march and general strike.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
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Minnesota officials put off approving a public option in 2024, citing funding concerns.—
Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez,
NPR,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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William Johnston, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton, previously told USA TODAY that abstaining from eating meat is also a form of penance – admitting to any wrongdoings and sins while turning back to belief in God.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
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But the group was turned back by Syrian authorities to the Roj detention camp, due to unspecified procedural problems.—
Rod McGuirk,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The planning commission decided to table the discussion on both the site plan and changing the zoning to allow the development at Monday's meeting.—
Heath Kalb,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2026
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After consulting with new City Attorney Joseph Svetanoff, the council decided to vote on the resolution put forth by Cotton, not the call to table it for further discussion put forth by Hunt.—
Shelley Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And there’s a real question as to whether democracies, which do have to be rooted in a common base of information and facts, as Jon just said, are going to be able to withstand this flood.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
20 Feb. 2026
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The lights come with an IP65 waterproof rating, meaning they are built to withstand rain and hose spray.—
Melanie Fincher,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Bleach can cause your hair to break off.—
Caroline C. Boyle,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
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Like Andrew, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also claimed to have broken off contact with Epstein—in his case, in 2005, after seeing Epstein’s massage room in New York—but the files revealed that the association continued for many years afterward.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When that happens, families turn to public hospitals, where no one is turned away.—
Shane Strum,
Sun Sentinel,
17 Feb. 2026
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The simple design suited the low-key style icon and reflected the restraint which characterized fashion of the era—a turn away from the maximalism of the 1980s.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Significant portions of the one-year contracts Michael King and Elias Díaz played under in 2024 were deferred via buyouts on a mutual option.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
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Asked what’s next on the agenda, the rapper-designer-actor deferred his answer to a higher power.—
Kristen Tauer,
Footwear News,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hold off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hold%20off. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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