as in postpones
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 holds off (on)
Verb
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Instead, the sentencing for the teenager falls under a process known as Extended Jurisdiction Juvenile, which postpones an adult sentence until his 21st birthday.—
Conor Wight,
CBS News,
28 Feb. 2026 -
Discord postpones age verification Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, is postponing its controversial age verification policy after receiving swift backlash from users with concerns about their privacy.—
Boston Herald Wire Services,
Boston Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That delays emptying of the stomach.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
27 Mar. 2026
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But having firefighters wait before starting preparations also delays when they can be dispatched to emergencies, which has lengthened response times — and has likely cost many lives across the city, the 60-page audit says.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Glasgow brings years of executive experience at companies like Meta and Google and holds over 50 issued or pending patents in areas like search, data mining, and commerce.—
Julia Black,
Vanity Fair,
10 Mar. 2026
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More crucially for the island's future is that Cuba’s private sector has also relentlessly eroded the control that Cuba’s military conglomerate GAESA holds over the country’s economy.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Depending on how long the renter defers part of the payment, Livble’s fees can translate into effective annual percentage rates of roughly 104% to 139%.—
Ken Sweet,
Fortune,
4 Feb. 2026
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One amendment to the bill adding new zoning categories defers its effective date to April 5, which Johnston said was meant to give the Planning Department enough time to put together and disseminate the map.—
Austin Hornbostel,
Nashville Tennessean,
5 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Holds off (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holds%20off%20%28on%29. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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