Hold, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Held p. pr. & vb. n. Holding. Holden p. p., is obs. in elegant writing, though still used in legal language.]
 1. To cause to remain in a given situation, position, or relation, within certain limits, or the like; to prevent from falling or escaping; to sustain; to restrain; to keep in the grasp; to retain.
    The loops held one curtain to another.   --Ex. xxxvi. 12.
    Thy right hand shall hold me.   --Ps. cxxxix. 10.
    They all hold swords, being expert in war.   --Cant. iii. 8.
    In vain he seeks, that having can not hold.   --Spenser.
 France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue, . . .
 A fasting tiger safer by the tooth,
 Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold.   --Shak.
 2. To retain in one's keeping; to maintain possession of, or authority over; not to give up or relinquish; to keep; to defend.
 We mean to hold what anciently we claim
 Of deity or empire.   --Milton.
 3. To have; to possess; to be in possession of; to occupy; to derive title to; as, to hold office.
    This noble merchant held a noble house.   --Chaucer.
    Of him to hold his seigniory for a yearly tribute.   --Knolles.
    And now the strand, and now the plain, they held.   --Dryden.
 4. To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain.
    We can not hold mortality's strong hand.   --Shak.
    Death! what do'st?  O, hold thy blow.   --Grashaw.
    He had not sufficient judgment and self-command to hold his tongue.   --Macaulay.
 5. To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain.
    Hold not thy peace, and be not still.   --Ps. lxxxiii. 1.
 Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost,
 Shall hold their course.   --Milton.
 6. To prosecute, have, take, or join in, as something which is the result of united action; as to, hold a meeting, a festival, a session, etc.; hence, to direct and bring about officially; to conduct or preside at; as, the general held a council of war; a judge holds a court; a clergyman holds a service.
    I would hold more talk with thee.   --Shak.
 7. To receive and retain; to contain as a vessel; as, this pail holds milk; hence, to be able to receive and retain; to have capacity or containing power for.
    Broken cisterns that can hold no water.   --Jer. ii. 13.
    One sees more devils than vast hell can hold.   --Shak.
 8. To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain.
    Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught.   --2 Thes. ii.15.
    But still he held his purpose to depart.   --Dryden.
 9. To consider; to regard; to esteem; to account; to think; to judge.
    I hold him but a fool.   --Shak.
    I shall never hold that man my friend.   --Shak.
    The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.   --Ex. xx. 7.
 10. To bear, carry, or manage; as he holds himself erect; he holds his head high.
    Let him hold his fingers thus.   --Shak.
 To hold a wager, to lay or hazard a wager. --Swift.
 To hold forth, (a) v. t.to offer; to exhibit; to propose; to put forward. “The propositions which books hold forth and pretend to teach.” --Locke. (b) v. i. To talk at length; to harangue.
 To held in, to restrain; to curd.
 To hold in hand, to toy with; to keep in expectation; to have in one's power. [Obs.]
 O, fie! to receive favors, return falsehoods,
 And hold a lady in hand.   --Beaw. & Fl.
 -- To hold in play, to keep under control; to dally with. --Macaulay.
 To hold off, to keep at a distance.
 To hold on, to hold in being, continuance or position; as, to hold a rider on.
 To hold one's day, to keep one's appointment. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
 To hold one's own. To keep good one's present condition absolutely or relatively; not to fall off, or to lose ground; as, a ship holds her own when she does not lose ground in a race or chase; a man holds his own when he does not lose strength or weight.
 To hold one's peace, to keep silence.- To hold out. (a) To extend; to offer. “Fortune holds out these to you as rewards.” --B. Jonson. (b) To continue to do or to suffer; to endure. “He can not long hold out these pangs.” --Shak.
 To hold up. (a) To raise; to lift; as, hold up your head. (b) To support; to sustain. “He holds himself up in virtue.”--Sir P. Sidney. (c) To exhibit; to display; as, he was held up as an example.  (d) To rein in; to check; to halt; as, hold up your horses. (e) to rob, usually at gunpoint; -- often with the demand to “hold up” the hands. (f) To delay.
 To hold water. (a) Literally, to retain water without leaking; hence (Fig.), to be whole, sound, consistent, without gaps or holes; -- commonly used in a negative sense; as, his statements will not hold water. [Colloq.] (b) Naut. To hold the oars steady in the water, thus checking the headway of a boat.


 Hold, v. i. In general, to keep one's self in a given position or condition; to remain fixed. Hence:
 1. Not to move; to halt; to stop; -- mostly in the imperative.
    And damned be him that first cries, =\“Hold, enough!”\=   --Shak.
 2. Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to remain unbroken or unsubdued.
    Our force by land hath nobly held.   --Shak.
 3. Not to fail or be found wanting; to continue; to last; to endure a test or trial; to abide; to persist.
    While our obedience holds.   --Milton.
    The rule holds in land as all other commodities.   --Locke.
 4. Not to fall away, desert, or prove recreant; to remain attached; to cleave; -- often with with, to, or for.
    He will hold to the one and despise the other.   --Matt. vi. 24
 5. To restrain one's self; to refrain.
 His dauntless heart would fain have held
 From weeping, but his eyes rebelled.   --Dryden.
 6. To derive right or title; -- generally with of.
    My crown is absolute, and holds of none.   --Dryden.
    His imagination holds immediately from nature.   --Hazlitt.
 Hold on! Hold up! wait; stop; forbear. [Collog]
 To hold forth, to speak in public; to harangue; to preach. --L'Estrange.
 To hold in, to restrain one's self; as, he wanted to laugh and could hardly hold in.
 To hold off, to keep at a distance.
 To hold on, to keep fast hold; to continue; to go on. “The trade held on for many years,” --Swift.
 To hold out, to last; to endure; to continue; to maintain one's self; not to yield or give way.
 To hold over, to remain in office, possession, etc., beyond a certain date.
 To hold to or To hold with, to take sides with, as a person or opinion.
 To hold together, to be joined; not to separate; to remain in union. --Dryden. --Locke.
 To hold up. (a) To support one's self; to remain unbent or unbroken; as, to hold up under misfortunes. (b) To cease raining; to cease to stop; as, it holds up. --Hudibras. (c) To keep up; not to fall behind; not to lose ground. --Collier.