HOLDS ON Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

holds on

verb

present tense third-person singular of hold on

as in remains

to remain indefinitely in existence or in the same state the ancient beliefs still held on in remote mountain villages

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in waits

to remain in place in readiness or expectation of something hold on a minute—it's not your turn

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of holds on The compilation misses remaining in the highest tier by only two rungs, while The Essential Michael Jackson barely holds on inside the bottom quarter of the 200-position roster. — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026 House Bill 945 establishes new regulations for cryptocurrency kiosks and allows financial institutions to place temporary holds on transactions when elder financial exploitation is suspected. — Christopher Harris, CBS News, 29 June 2026 Nava’s specific approach to reining in rogue behavior by AI agents is the creation of an escrow service that holds on to funds until an agent proposes a transaction. — Jack Kubinec, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2026 The camera holds on them mid-ascent. — Jp Mangalindan, Time, 27 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for holds on

Verb

His future remains uncertain with the team currently rostering four QBs.

— Alec Lewis, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
But research that began in the 1990s has shown that something sparked an acceleration of the universe’s expansion about 6 billion years ago, and the cause remains unknown.

— Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of remains

Verb

In the film, Jasper dies after Bangley waits until the last minute to pick off some invaders that target Hig and his dog.

— Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026
The venture team owns the company relationship, the infrastructure team waits for scale, and the credit team waits for operating history.

— Rob Day, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of waits

Verb

Tim Cook stays close to Apple Tim Cook became Apple’s executive chair after John Ternus succeeded him as CEO, with a $2 million annual salary and a $45 million target-value equity award.

— Diane Brady, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026
Trailing the 2010s trilogy by long enough that a genuine pandemic happened in the interim, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes stays within the continuity of those movies while introducing new characters and a further-future setting.

— Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Sep. 2026