The beauty of the garden was a pleasure to behold.beholdbe‧hold /bɪˈhəʊld $ -ˈhoʊld/ verb (past tense and past participle beheld) [transitive] literary 
The beauty of the garden was a pleasure to behold.—beholder noun [countable] → lo and behold at lo(2)
WORD ORIGINbehold
Origin:
Old English behealdan ‘to keep, behold’VERB TABLE
behold
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | behold |
| he, she, it | beholds | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | beheld |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have beheld |
| he, she, it | has beheld | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had beheld |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will behold |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have beheld |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am beholding |
| he, she, it | is beholding | |
| you, we, they | are beholding | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was beholding |
| you, we, they | were beholding | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been beholding |
| he, she, it | has been beholding | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been beholding |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be beholding |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been beholding |
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- His face was not a pleasant sight to behold on awakening.
- If he was not horrible to look at, then he was cruel to forbid her ever to behold him.
- It is a popular field of collecting, pleasant to behold and with a spice of magic about it.
- Nor was it just the execution that attracted them, for the procession itself was a sight to behold.
- The New Victory is glorious to behold.
- The rich beauty of Audley End is a pleasure to behold.
- Yesterday the sun shone until everything he beheld revealed its dazzle.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The beauty of the garden was a pleasure to behold.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN
The beauty of the garden was a pleasure to behold.· The horticultural efforts of individual residents are a joy to behold, and reflect great credit on those concerned.
· From Mount Ampenan, and over the rocky coastline and long golden beaches is a sight to behold.· When they were on, they were a sight to behold.· Nor was it just the execution that attracted them, for the procession itself was a sight to behold.· The Transit Authority meetings are a sight to behold.· His face was not a pleasant sight to behold on awakening.· It was a sight to behold!· All in all a lovely sight to behold.· Four feet eleven inches of skin and bone, but a terrible sight to behold when roused.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► be a (beautiful/strange/frightening etc) sight to behold
to see or to look at something – sometimes used humorouslybe a sight/joy/pleasure etc to behold- When we arrived, lo and behold, there was Dave sitting in the front row.
- And, lo and behold, it was another rich guy.
- So he started exercising regularly and eating low-calorie foods and, lo and behold, trimmed down to a svelte 290.
- Treat the wasps with an antibiotic and, lo and behold, two genders reappear among the offspring.
The beauty of the garden was a pleasure to behold.—beholder noun [countable] → lo and behold at lo(2)