Meaning of hold out in English

Table of contents

Verb
hold out
Definitions
1. thrust or extend out
Examples
- « He held out his hand »
- « point a finger »
- « extend a hand »
- « the bee exserted its sting »
Derived terms
- extensor
- extensor muscle
2. stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something
Antonyms
- surrender
- give up
Derived terms
3. last and be usable
Examples
- « This dress wore well for almost ten years »
4. wait uncompromisingly for something desirable
Examples
- « He held out for the dessert and did not touch the cheeses »
Derived terms
- holdout
5. continue to live
Examples
- « endure or last »
- « We went without water and food for 3 days »
- « These superstitions survive in the backwaters of America »
- « The racecar driver lived through several very serious accidents »
Derived terms
- endurance
- survival

Famous quotes

« Women are called upon to defend every bit of progress we have made against particularly virulent attack. But we must also hold out a vision, put forth a positive agenda of what women need and want and then move forward toward that dream. »
Patricia Ireland
« If you kiss on the first date and it's not right, then there will be no second date. Sometimes it's better to hold out and not kiss for a long time. I am a strong believer in kissing being very intimate, and the minute you kiss, the floodgates open for everything else. »
Jennifer Lopez
« You can alter movie singing so much because you go into the recording studio and, just technology for recording has gotten so good, you can hold out a note and they can combine a note from take 2 and a note from take 8. »
Anne Hathaway
« 'Little Miss Sunshine' snowballed. It was a tiny movie. We shot it in 30 days, and it was really fun to do, but it was one of those small movies that you don't hold out huge hope for. »
Greg Kinnear