hold water
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hold 1
(hōld)v. held (hĕld), hold·ing, holds
v.tr.
1.
a. To have and keep in one's grasp: held the reins tightly.
b. To aim or direct; point: held a hose on the fire.
c. To keep from falling or moving; support: a nail too small to hold the mirror; hold the horse steady; papers that were held together with staples.
d. To sustain the pressure of: The old bridge can't hold much weight.
2.
a. To keep from departing or getting away: Hold the bus! Hold the dog until I find the leash.
b. To keep in custody: held the suspect for questioning.
c. To retain (one's attention or interest): Televised sports can't hold my interest.
d. To avoid letting out or expelling: The swimmer held her breath while underwater.
3.
a. To be filled by; contain: This drawer holds socks.
b. To be capable of holding: a pitcher that holds a quart. See Synonyms at contain.
c. To have as a chief characteristic or quality: The film holds many surprises.
d. To have in store: Let's see what the future holds.
4.
a. To have and maintain in one's possession: holds a great deal of property.
b. To have as a responsible position or a privilege: held the governorship for six years.
c. To have in recognition of achievement or superiority: holds the record for the one-mile race; holds the respect of her peers.
5.
a. To maintain control over: Thieves held the stolen painting for ransom.
b. To maintain occupation of by force or coercion: Protesters held the embassy for a week.
c. To withstand the efforts or advance of (an opposing team, for example).
d. To maintain in a given condition, situation, or action: The storyteller held the crowd spellbound.
6.
a. To impose control or restraint on; curb: She held her temper.
b. To stop the movement or progress of: Hold the presses!
c. To reserve or keep back from use: Please hold two tickets for us. Hold the relish on that hamburger.
d. To defer the immediate handling of: The receptionist held all calls during the meeting.
7.
a. To own or have title to.
b. To be in possession of, whether legally entitled or not: holds an interest in the company.
c. To bind by a contract.
d. To adjudge or decree: The court held that the defendant was at fault.
e. To make accountable; obligate: He held me to my promise.
8.
a. To keep in the mind or convey as a judgment, conviction, or point of view: holds that this economic program is the only answer to high prices.
b. To assert or affirm, especially formally: This doctrine holds that people are inherently good.
c. To regard in a certain way: I hold you in high esteem.
9.
a. To cause to take place; carry on: held the race in Texas; hold a yard sale.
b. To assemble for and conduct the activity of; convene: held a meeting of the board.
10.
a. To carry or support (the body or a bodily part) in a certain position: Can the baby hold herself up yet? Hold up your leg.
b. To cover (the ears or the nose, for example) especially for protection: held my nose against the stench.
v.intr.
1.
a. To maintain a grasp or grip on something.
b. To stay securely fastened: The chain held.
2.
a. To maintain a desired or accustomed position or condition: hopes the weather will hold.
b. To withstand stress, pressure, or opposition: The defense held. We held firm on the negotiations.
3. To continue in the same direction: The ship held to an easterly course.
4. To be valid, applicable, or true: The observation still holds in cases like this.
5. To halt an intended action. Often used in the imperative.
6. To stop the countdown during a missile or spacecraft launch.
7. Slang To have in one's possession illicit or illegally obtained material or goods, especially narcotics: The suspect was holding.
n.
Phrasal Verbs: 1.
a. The act or a means of grasping.
b. A manner of grasping an opponent, as in wrestling or aikido: a neck hold; an arm hold.
2. Something that may be grasped or gripped, as for support.
3. A control or adjustor on a television that keeps the screen image in proper position: adjusted the horizontal hold.
4. A telephone service that allows one to temporarily interrupt a call without severing the connection.
5.
a. A bond or force that attaches or restrains, or by which something is affected or dominated: a writer with a strong hold on her readership.
b. Complete control: has a firm hold on the complex issues.
c. Full understanding: has a good hold on physics.
6. Music
a. The sustaining of a note longer than its indicated time value.
b. The symbol designating this pause; a fermata.
7.
a. A direction or indication that something is to be reserved or deferred.
b. A temporary halt, as in a countdown.
8.
a. A prison cell.
b. The state of being in confinement; custody.
9. Archaic A fortified place; a stronghold.
hold back
1. To retain in one's possession or control: held back valuable information; held back my tears.
2. To impede the progress of.
3. To restrain oneself: Tell us what happened. Don't hold back.
hold down
1. To limit: Please hold the noise down.
2. To fulfill the duties of (a job): holds down two jobs.
hold forth
To talk at great length.
hold off
1. To keep at a distance; resist: held the creditors off.
2. To stop or delay doing something: Let's hold off until we have more data.
hold on
1. To maintain one's grip; cling.
2. To endure or continue to do something despite difficulty: They held on until fresh supplies arrived.
3. To wait for something wanted or requested.
hold out
1. To present or offer: She held out the possibility that she might run for office.
2. To continue to be in supply or service; last: How long can our food hold out?
3. To continue to resist: The defending garrison held out for a month.
4. To refuse to reach an agreement or insist on certain demands: The union held out for a better raise.
hold over
1. To postpone or delay.
2. To keep in a position or state from an earlier period of time.
3. To continue a term of office past the usual length of time.
4. To prolong the engagement of: The film was held over for weeks.
hold to
To remain loyal or faithful to: She held to her resolutions.
hold up
1. To obstruct or delay.
2. To rob while armed, often at gunpoint.
3. To offer or present as an example: held the essay up as a model for the students.
4. To continue to function without losing force or effectiveness; cope: managed to hold up under the stress.
hold with
Idioms: To agree with; support: I don't hold with your theories.
get hold of
1. To come into possession of; find: Where can I get hold of a copy?
2. To communicate with, as by telephone: tried to get hold of you but the line was busy.
3. To gain control of. Often used reflexively: You must get hold of yourself!
hold a candle to
To compare favorably with: This film doesn't hold a candle to his previous ones.
hold/keep (one's) end up
To fulfill one's part of an agreement; do one's share.
hold (one's) own
To do reasonably well despite difficulty or criticism.
hold out on (someone)
To withhold something from: Don't hold out on me; start telling the truth.
hold (someone's) feet to the fire
To pressure (someone) to consent to or undertake something.
hold sway
To have a controlling influence; dominate.
hold the bag Informal
1. To be left with empty hands.
2. To be forced to assume total responsibility when it ought to have been shared.
hold the fort Informal
1. To assume responsibility, especially in another's absence.
2. To maintain a secure position.
hold the line
To maintain the existing position or state of affairs: had to hold the line on salary increases.
hold the phone Slang
To stop doing what one is engaged in doing. Often used in the imperative: Hold the phone! Let's end this argument.
hold water
To stand up to critical examination: Your explanation doesn't hold water.
no holds barred
Without limits, regulations, or restraints.
on hold
1. Into a state of temporary interruption without severing a telephone connection: put me on hold for 10 minutes.
2. Informal Into a state of delay or indeterminate suspension: had to put the romance on hold.
[Middle English holden, from Old English healdan.]
hold 2
(hōld)n.
The lower interior part of a ship or airplane where cargo is stored.
[Alteration (influenced by hold) of Middle English hole, husk, hull of a ship, from Old English hulu; see kel- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
hold water
To be convincing or seem logically sound; from the idea of a container that has no unwanted holes in it.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Verb | 1. | hold water - resist or withstand wear, criticism, etc.; "Her shoes won't hold up"; "This theory won't hold water" live on, survive, last, live, endure, hold out, hold up, go - continue to live through hardship or adversity; "We went without water and food for 3 days"; "These superstitions survive in the backwaters of America"; "The race car driver lived through several very serious accidents"; "how long can a person last without food and water?" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
يَقْنِع
holde vand
vera heldur, standast prófun
inandırıcı olmak
water
(ˈwoːtə) noun a colourless, transparent liquid compound of hydrogen and oxygen, having no taste or smell, which turns to steam when boiled and to ice when frozen. She drank two glasses of water; `Are you going swimming in the sea?' `No, the water's too cold'; Each bedroom in the hotel is supplied with hot and cold running water; (also adjective) The plumber had to turn off the water supply in order to repair the pipe; transport by land and water.
verb1. to supply with water. He watered the plants.
2. (of the mouth) to produce saliva. His mouth watered at the sight of all the food.
3. (of the eyes) to fill with tears. The dense smoke made his eyes water.
ˈwaters noun plural a body of water such as the sea, a river etc. the stormy waters of the bay.
ˈwatery adjective1. like water; diluted. a watery fluid.
2. (of eyes) full of fluid eg because of illness, cold winds etc.
3. (of a colour) pale. eyes of a watery blue.
ˈwateriness nounwater boatman
a water insect with oarlike back legs that propel it through the water.
ˈwaterborne adjective carried or transmitted by water. Typhoid is a waterborne disease.
ˈwater-closet noun (abbreviation WC (dabljuˈsiː) ) a lavatory.
ˈwater-colour noun a type of paint which is thinned with water instead of with oil.
ˈwatercress noun a herb which grows in water and is often used in salads.
ˈwaterfall noun a natural fall of water from a height such as a rock or a cliff.
ˈwaterfowl noun or noun plural a bird or birds which live on or beside water.
ˈwaterfront noun that part of a town etc which faces the sea or a lake. He lives on the waterfront.
ˈwaterhole noun a spring or other place where water can be found in a desert or other dry country. The elephant drank from the waterhole.
ˈwatering-can noun a container used when watering plants.
water level the level of the surface of a mass of water. The water level in the reservoir is sinking/rising.
ˈwaterlily – plural ˈwaterlilies – noun a water plant with broad flat floating leaves.
ˈwaterlogged adjective (of ground) soaked in water.
water main a large underground pipe carrying a public water supply.
ˈwater-melon a type of melon with green skin and red flesh.
ˈwaterproof adjective not allowing water to soak through. waterproof material.
noun a coat made of waterproof material. She was wearing a waterproof.
verb to make (material) waterproof.
ˈwatershed noun an area of high land from which rivers flow in different directions into different basins.
ˈwater-skiing noun the sport of skiing on water, towed by a motor-boat.
ˈwater-ski verbˈwatertight adjective
made in such a way that water cannot pass through.
water vapour water in the form of a gas, produced by evaporation.
ˈwaterway noun a channel, eg a canal or river, along which ships can sail.
ˈwaterwheel noun a wheel moved by water to work machinery etc.
ˈwaterworks noun singular or plural a place in which water is purified and stored before distribution to an area.
hold water to be convincing. His explanation won't hold water.
in(to) deep water in(to) trouble or danger. I got into deep water during that argument.
water down to dilute. This milk has been watered down.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.