Hold Off

Definition: Hold Off

Hold Off

Verb

1. Fight to a stand-off, as in sports: "Dallas had enough of a lead to hold the Broncos back".

2. Wait before acting.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Synonyms: Hold Off

Avoidance

Eschew, keep from, let alone, have nothing to do with; keep aloof keep off, stand aloof, stand off, hold aloof, hold off; take no part in, have no hand in.

Crosswords: Hold Off

We-he-ell, uh, I'd like to hold off judgement on a thing like that, sir, until all the facts are in. (Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb; writing credit: Peter George; Stanley Kubrick)

Why did you tell me to hold off on signing the contract? (Shock Treatment; writing credit: Richard O'Brien; Jim Sharman)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Sex Smart: 501 Reasons to Hold Off on Sex (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Expression using "hold off": To hold off. Additional references.

Albanian

zmbraps (beat off, check, drive back, fight off, foil, repel, repulse, turn), nuk bie, lë të presë, e mbaj larg. (various references)

Arabic 

‏تمسك بحقه, ‏صد (alienation, baffle, balk, baulk, bear down, beat, beat off, blast, estop, estoppel, exclusion, fend, fend off, fight off, hit, hit back, jolt, kick, negative, parry, poach, push, push aside, push back, quash, rebuff, repel, repudiate, repulse, repulsion, return, riposte, snub, spurn, stamp down, stave, stay, stay away, stem, throwback, toss, turn away, ward, ward off), ‏أبعد (alien, alienate, bounce, deport, distance, drive away, drive out, estrange, exclude, far, farther, oust, out of the way, outmost, preclude, relegate, send, send packing, stave off, supplant, take away, throw out, transport, ulterior, ultimate, warn off), ‏دافع (advocate, apologize, assert, buckler, champion, cushion, defend, guard, guard against, impetus, impulse, impulsive, inducement, motive, object, payer, projectile, propellant, propeller, propulsive, repulsive, score, stand for, stick up for, urge, vindicate). (various references)

Bulgarian 

забавям (arrest, cool, defer, delay, detain, hang up, hold back, hold over, inhibit, postpone, put back, put over, retard, set back, sidetrack, slacken, slow, slow down, stave off, steady), задържам (apprehend, arrest, can, contain, detain, deter, entrap, hold, hold back, hold over, hold up, immobilize, inhibit, keep, keep away, keep back, keep down, occlude, press back, reserve, restrain, retain, trig), държа настрана. (various references)

Czech

zdržovat (buttonhole, distract, hinder, impede, obstruct, restrain), odrazit (beat, beat off, fend, fend off, fight off, force back, intercept, push off, rebut, repel, repulse, return, ricochet, shove off, strike back, throw back, ward off), neudìlat. (various references)

French

riposter, faire éloigner, éloigner. (various references)

German

warten (abide, attend, await, camp-on, expect, hang about, hold on, look after, lookouts, maintain, nurse, service, tend, tend to, to service, wait, wait about, wait around, wait for, waiting), sich fernhalten (keep away, stand apart, stay away), nicht angreifen, eindämmen (check, confine, contain, dam, dam up, embank, stem, to dam up, to embank, to stem), ausbleiben (absence, be overdue, fail to appear, fail to materialize, non-appearance, non-arrival, stay away, stay off, stay out, stop, to stay away), abwehren (avert, beat off, clear, discourage, dismiss, fend, fend off, field, fight off, keep away, make a save, parry, protect against, repel, repulse, stave off, to fend, to parry, to stave off, ward off). (various references)

Greek 

κρατώ σε απόσταση (keep away, keep back), απέχω (abstain, be distant, desist, eschew, forbear, forgo, refrain, stand off). (various references)

Hebrew 

ל�"�"וף (bear down, beat off, blast, fend off, fight off, jolt, push, repel, repulse, shove, stave off, ward off), ל�"חות (cast away, defer, dismiss, postpone, repel, set aside, suspend). (various references)

Hungarian

visszatart (contain, detain, hold, hold back, hold in, keep in, recoup, restrain, retain, retard, to check, to contain, to detain, to entrap, to hold back, to keep back, to keep from, to pocket, to pull, to pull up, to recoup, to repress, to restrain, to retain, to stay, withhold), távol tartja magát valamitõl (keep away from), késlekedik (delay, fall behind, hang fire, procrastinate, to defer, to hang fire, to hold off, to lag, to linger, to procrastinate). (various references)

Italian

trattenere (Bate, contain, curb, deduct, detain, deter, entertain, hold, hold back, keep, keep oneself, pull in, remain, restrain, retain, suppress, withhold). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

手控える (to hangback, to hold off, to jot down a note, to reduce or cut back on, to refrain). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

てびかえる (to hangback, to hold off, to jot down a note, to reduce or cut back on, to refrain). (various references)

Manx

cummal jeh. (various references)

Pig Latin

oldhay offay

Portuguese

distanciar (distance), afastar (alienate, avert, call away, depart, deviate, dispel, distract, diverge, divert, do away with, eliminate, estrange, fend, get rid of, keep away, keep off, lay off, make away, move away, obviate, relegate, remove, repel, retire, rid, separate, wean, withdraw). (various references)

Romanian

preveni (admonish, apprise, apprize, avert, caution, forewarn, give notice, head, help, warn). (various references)

Russian 

задерживаться (dwelt, lag, linger, lingered, stat out late, times-out), держаться поодаль, держать поодаль. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

odlagati (delay). (various references)

Spanish

tener a raya (keep back, keep off, restrain), rechazar (ban, beat back, beat off, defeat, deny, deprecate, disallow, disavow, discard, disclaim, discourage, dismiss, disown, drive back, fend, fend off, fight off, hand off, negative, overrule, Parry, pass up, press back, push back, put aside, rebuff, rebut, refuse, reject, repel, repudiate, repulse, say no to, scout, set aside, Spike, spurn, stave off, stem, throw back, throw out, thrust aside, turn away, turn down, vote down, vote out, ward off, wave aside, wave away), no tomar parte, no participar, mantenerse a distancia (hold back, keep aloof, keep away, keep off), mantener a distancia, esperar (abide, anticipate, await, bargain for, bide, due, expect, foresee, hang about, hang around, hang on, hold on, hope, look, look for, look out for, stand about, stand around, stay, stay for, Tarry, think, trust, wait, wait about, wait around, wait for, watch), defenderse contra (fight against, ward off), apartar (abduce, alienate, allure, avert, deviate, distract, divert, divide, draw aside, draw away, draw off, fob, head off, keep apart, look away, lure away, move aside, move away, move over, push away, refract, separate, set aside, shut off, stave off, take away, throw aside, to deviate, turn aside, turn away). (various references)

Swedish

hålla på avstånd (distance, keep off, stand off), skjuta upp (blast off, hunch, launch, postpone). (various references)

Turkish

yaklaştırmamak (hold at bay, keep away from, keep off, stand off), uzak tutmak (curb, hold at bay, keep apart, keep at bay, keep away, keep off, keep out, stand off), olmamak (be lacking, lack, not to be, not to happen), mesafe koymak, geri durmak, gerçekleşmemek, gecikmek (be hung up, be late, be tardy, delay, fall behind with, lag, lag behind), ertelemek (adjourn, carry over, continue, defer, delay, hang up, hold over, lay aside, lay by, lay over, leave over, postpone, procrastinate, put off, reprieve, reserve, respite, scrub, shelve, sidetrack, stay, suspend, table, waive), çekinmek (beware, boggle, chicken out, dread, fear, flee from, flinch, funk, get cold feet, hang back, have cold feet, hesitate, hold back, keep clear of, shrink, shun, shy, wince, withdraw). (various references)

Ukrainian

тримати осторонь, не пускати, затримуватися (bait, linger, pause, stick). (various references)

detenta, detentio, detentus, detineat, detinebam, detinebant, detinemus, detineo, detinere, detinuimus, detinuit. (various references)

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-2 letters: flood.

-3 letters: doff, fold, food, fool, hold, hood, hoof, loof.

-4 letters: dol, foh, hod, loo, off, oho, old, ooh.

-5 letters: do, ho, lo, od, of, oh.

+5 letters: officeholder.