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

This is a long-term problem the agency is working on, but remains unresolved.

— AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Sustained high performance by firms that treat customer value as primary remains the strongest empirical rebuttal.

— Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of remains

Verb

Most meetings run on the host’s agenda while the client waits to be heard.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
But long waits to enter the stadium — delays that stemmed from operational failures rather than genuine demand — frustrated the same fans who had willingly queued for tickets weeks earlier.

— Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 31 July 2026

Definition of waits

Verb

The landslide comes amid the country’s rainy season, which usually lasts from June to September, and is known as Kiremt.

— Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 5 Aug. 2026
Measles is highly contagious, but the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is highly effective, and protection generally lasts for life.

— Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of lasts

Verb

To prove the unused car stays that way, participants will be using GoCarma’s smartphone app to keep track of odometer readings.

— Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 7 Aug. 2026
Toberman, a former real estate developer in the United States and France, stays fit by playing pickleball nearly every day, usually for two hours at a time, along with water and snow skiing.

— Nancy Badertscher, AJC.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of stays

Verb

Making ends meet continues to be a struggle for many families, and now back-to-school shopping is straining even more families' budgets.

— Ashley Portillo, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
The company argues that improving awareness on the airport surface could deliver meaningful safety gains as flight activity continues to increase.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 5 Aug. 2026