hold back

1. 1.

   hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of

   “Arrest the downward trend”

   “Check the growth of communism in South East Asia”

   “Contain the rebel movement”

   “Turn back the tide of communism”

   Synonymscheckturn backarreststopcontain

   Broaderdefend

   Narrowercut down
2. 2.

   refrain from doing

   “she forbore a snicker”

   Synonymsforbear

   Broaderrefrain
3. 3.

   wait before acting

   “the scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment”

   Synonymswaithold off

   Broaderact

   Narrowerhold outdelay
4. 4.

   secure and keep for possible future use or application

   “The landlord retained the security deposit”

   “I reserve the right to disagree”

   Synonymsretainholdkeep back

   Broaderkeep

   Narrowerhold down
5. 5.

   hold back; keep from being perceived by others

   “She conceals her anger well”

   Synonymsconcealhold in

   Narroweroccult
6. 6.

   prevent the action or expression of

   “hold back your anger”

   “keep your cool”

   “she struggled to restrain her impatience at the delays”

   Synonymsrestrainkeepkeep back

   Narrowerholdwinkrulebaffleswallowconfinecontrol

Questions about hold back

What does hold back mean?

hold back means "hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of". That is the primary sense; the word has 6 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for hold back?

Close synonyms include check, turn back, arrest, stop, contain. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is hold back a common word?

hold back is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.