as in surviving
to continue to operate or to meet one's needs
we hoped our supply of firewood would hold out until power was restored luckily, the old outboard motor held out till we made it to shore
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Recent Examples of holding out
Not here in Chinatown, but perhaps this place is holding out for something better, something more real.
—
Xuan Juliana Wang, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Mourinho had seen enough and marched over to Parkinson on the touchline, holding out his hand in a gesture intended to concede defeat.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Child care providers and workers in Michigan are holding out hope for more.
—Beki San Martin, Freep.com, 8 Mar. 2026
The unscripted business has been holding out hope that under Wiseman and Holland, Paramount+ will become another major buyer of reality formats and series to rival the likes of Netflix and the broadcast networks.
—Peter White, Deadline, 5 Mar. 2026
Will the conversation in Indianapolis lead toward Pickens holding out of offseason activities?
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Feb. 2026
Brendan Morrow Speaking to NBC News, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said investigators are holding out hope that Nancy Guthrie is alive.
—Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 5 Feb. 2026
In the meantime, Musto said that PennDOT keeps holding out for sunshine.
—John Shumway, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
But this was largely attributed to buyers holding out for better prices that may yet follow and the overall market remains resilient.
—Gaurav Sharma, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Xuan Juliana Wang, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Mourinho had seen enough and marched over to Parkinson on the touchline, holding out his hand in a gesture intended to concede defeat.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Child care providers and workers in Michigan are holding out hope for more.
—Beki San Martin, Freep.com, 8 Mar. 2026
The unscripted business has been holding out hope that under Wiseman and Holland, Paramount+ will become another major buyer of reality formats and series to rival the likes of Netflix and the broadcast networks.
—Peter White, Deadline, 5 Mar. 2026
Will the conversation in Indianapolis lead toward Pickens holding out of offseason activities?
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Feb. 2026
Brendan Morrow Speaking to NBC News, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said investigators are holding out hope that Nancy Guthrie is alive.
—Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 5 Feb. 2026
In the meantime, Musto said that PennDOT keeps holding out for sunshine.
—John Shumway, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
But this was largely attributed to buyers holding out for better prices that may yet follow and the overall market remains resilient.
—Gaurav Sharma, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holding out
Verb
-
In the state’s death chamber in Huntsville, Ricks apologized in his last statement to the third, surviving victim, Marcus Figueroa, who watched the execution through glass, the closest person among his relatives in an observation room to Ricks.—
Emerson Clarridge
Updated March 12,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Elliott and others located the victims at Pizza City early on the morning of April 16, shooting one victim to death and shooting another surviving victim multiple times.—
Josh Davis,
Baltimore Sun,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
With each solar orbit lasting 769 days, that’s a real-time slowdown of just over 10 micrometers per second, shrinking the asteroids’ 300-million-mile orbit by 2,360 feet.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Your reliability builds lasting bridges that support future goals.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Season 2’s prevailing tone is at once more serious and less sorrowful.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The Actor award went to Amy Madigan, a lone nominee from a horror film who’s swimming against a prevailing current that favors Best Picture heavyweights.—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
When times are tough, keeping up the daily grind is a meaningful accomplishment.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 Mar. 2026
-
The Felician University women’s softball team plays its home games on the field and has played a key part in keeping up maintenance.—
New York Daily News,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The company said growing demand for power, supply chain and other issues holding up new power sources and plant outages contributed to the need to keep Comanche 2 open longer than planned.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
10 Mar. 2026
-
This storage rack fits onto most car roof racks, capable of holding up to six pairs of skis or four snowboards.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Holding out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holding%20out. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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