⇒ The Englishman held up the rifle.英国人举起了手枪。 (Yīngguórén jǔqǐle shǒuqiāng.)
(= support) 支撑(撐) (zhīchēng)
⇒ These books hold the bed up.这些书支撑着床。 (Zhèxiē shū zhīchēngzhe chuáng.)
(= delay) 阻碍(礙) (zǔ'ài)
⇒ Why were you holding everyone up?你为什么要阻碍其他人? (Nǐ wèishénme yào zǔài qítā rén?)
(= rob)[person, bank]抢(搶)劫 (qiǎngjié)
⇒ He held me up at gunpoint.他持枪抢劫了我。 (Tā chíqiāng qiǎngjiéle wǒ.)
See hold
1 (phrasal verb)
Sales of children's clothes are holding up well.
Synonyms
last
You only need a very small amount, so the tube lasts for ages.
survive
Rejected by the people, can the organization survive at all?
endure
Somehow the language endures and continues to survive to this day.
bear up
She felt that she would be unable to bear up under the pain.
wear
Casual shoes need to wear well.
2 (phrasal verb)
I'm not sure if the argument holds up, but it's stimulating.
Synonyms
hold water (informal)
This argument simply doesn't hold water.
be valid
be logical
be credible
be consistent
See hold
1 (noun)
Definition
an armed robbery
an armed hold-up at a National Australia bank
Synonyms
robbery
The twins were convicted of robbery.
steaming (informal)
theft
Art theft is now part of organized crime.
mugging (informal)
stick-up (slang, mainly US)
2 (noun)
Definition
a delay
They arrived late due to a motorway hold-up.
Synonyms
delay
Air restrictions might mean delays for Easter holidaymakers.
wait
After a long wait, someone finally picked up the phone.
hitch
The five-hour operation went without a hitch.
trouble
difficulty
The main difficulty has been getting enough students to try out the scheme.
setback
He has suffered a serious setback in his political career.
snag
A police crackdown hit a snag when villains stole one of their cars.
traffic jam
He was delayed in a traffic jam.
obstruction
drivers parking near his house and causing an obstruction
stoppage
bottleneck
a town-centre bottleneck
Additional synonyms
in the sense of bear up
Definition
to cope with hardships
She felt that she would be unable to bear up under the pain.
Synonyms
cope,
suffer,
manage,
survive,
carry on,
persevere,
bear the brunt,
grin and bear it (informal),
take it on the chin (informal),
hold your own,
keep your chin up,
go through the mill
in the sense of bottleneck
Definition
something that holds up progress
a town-centre bottleneck
Synonyms
block,
hold-up,
obstacle,
congestion,
obstruction,
impediment,
blockage,
snarl-up (informal, British),
(traffic) jam
in the sense of difficulty
Definition
an objection or obstacle
The main difficulty has been getting enough students to try out the scheme.
Synonyms
problem,
trouble,
obstacle,
hurdle,
dilemma,
hazard,
complication,
hassle (informal),
snag,
uphill (South Africa),
predicament,
pitfall,
stumbling block,
impediment,
hindrance,
tribulation,
quandary,
can of worms (informal),
point at issue,
disputed point
Nearby words of
hold up
hold something up
hold sway
hold the fort
hold up
hold water
hold with something
hold your own
Related terms of
hold up
hold someone up
hold something up
Synonyms of 'hold up'
hold up
Explore 'hold up' in the dictionary
hold up
1. phrasal verb
If you hold up your hand or something you have in your hand, you move it upwards into a particular position and keep it there.
She held up her hand stiffly. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
Hold it up so that we can see it. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
2. phrasal verb
If one thing holds up another, it is placed under the other thing in order to support it and prevent it from falling.
Mills have iron pillars all over the place holding up the roof. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
Her legs wouldn't hold her up. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
3. phrasal verb
To hold up a person or process means to make them late or delay them.
Why were you holding everyone up? [VERB noun PARTICLE]
Continuing violence could hold up progress towards reform. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
cancel
4. phrasal verb
If someone holds up a place such as a bank or a shop, they point a weapon at someone there to make them give them money or valuable goods.
A thief ran off with hundreds of pounds yesterday after holding up a petrol station. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
[Also VERB noun PARTICLE]
5. phrasal verb
If you hold up something such as someone's behaviour, you make it known to other people, so that they can criticize or praise it.
She said the picture that had appeared in a Sunday newspaper had held her up to ridicule. [V n Pto n]
He had always been held up as an example to the younger ones. [beV-ed P + as]
[Also V n P + as]
6. phrasal verb
If something such as a type of business holds up in difficult conditions, it stays in a reasonably good state.
Children's wear is one area that is holding up well in the recession. [VERBPARTICLE]
7. phrasal verb
If an argument or theory holds up, it is true or valid, even after close examination.
I'm not sure if the argument holds up, but it's stimulating. [VERBPARTICLE]
8. See also hold-up
See full dictionary entry for hold
hold-up
also holdup
Word forms: plural hold-ups
1. countable noun
A hold-up is a situation in which someone is threatened with a weapon in order to make them hand over money or valuables.
2. countable noun
A hold-up is something which causes a delay.
3. countable noun
A hold-up is the stopping or very slow movement of traffic, sometimes caused by an accident which happened earlier.
They arrived late due to a motorway hold-up.
Synonyms: delay, wait, hitch, trouble More Synonyms of hold-up
More Synonyms of hold-up
hold-up in British English
noun
1.
a robbery, esp an armed one
2.
a delay; stoppage
3. US
an excessive charge; extortion
4. (usually plural)
a stocking that is held up by an elasticated top without suspenders
verbhold up(adverb)
5. (transitive)
to delay; hinder
we were held up by traffic
6. (transitive)
to keep from falling; support
7. (transitive)
to stop forcibly or waylay in order to rob, esp using a weapon
8. (transitive)
to exhibit or present
he held up his achievements for our admiration
9. (intransitive)
to survive or last
how are your shoes holding up?
10. bridge
to refrain from playing a high card, so delaying the establishment of (a suit)
11. hold up one's hands
hold up in American English
1.
to keep from falling; prop up
2.
to show; exhibit
3.
to last; endure; continue
4.
to stop; delay; impede
5. US
to stop forcibly and rob
6. US, Informal
to overcharge
See full dictionary entry for hold
Examples of 'hold-up' in a sentence
hold-up
The deal had been held up for months by corruption claims and a tax dispute.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Around Parramatta there were four break-ins, two bag-snatchings and an attempted bank hold-up during the forty-five-minute church service.
Cleary, Jon MURDER SONG
He must have helped them work out the hold-up in the first place.
Arthur, Robert THREE IN ONE
In other languages
hold up
British English: hold up /həʊld ʌp/ VERB
If someone or something holds you up, they delay you.
Why were you holding everyone up?
American English: hold up
Arabic: يُعَطِّلُ
Brazilian Portuguese: atrasar
Chinese: 阻碍
Croatian: zadržavati
Czech: zdržet
Danish: forsinke
Dutch: ophouden vertragen
European Spanish: retrasar
Finnish: viivyttää
French: retarder
German: hochhalten
Greek: καθυστερώ
Italian: trattenere
Japanese: 持ちこたえる
Korean: 지연하다
Norwegian: rekke opp
Polish: podtrzymać
European Portuguese: atrasar
Romanian: a reține
Russian: задерживать
Latin American Spanish: retrasar
Swedish: hålla upp
Thai: ทำให้ชักช้า
Turkish: gecikmek
Ukrainian: затримувати
Vietnamese: trì hoãn
All related terms of 'hold up'
to hold one's head up
抬起头(頭) táiqǐ tóu
hold over
( postpone ) 推迟(遲) tuīchí
hold out
( hand ) 伸出 shēnchū ⇒ Sam held out his hand for the briefcase. → 山姆伸手拿公文包。 Shānmǔ shēnshǒu ná gōngwénbāo.
hold on to
( grasp ) 抓住 zhuāzhù ⇒ He had to hold on to the chair to steady himself. → 他不得不抓住椅子使自己站稳。 Tā bù dé bù zhuāzhù yǐzi shǐ zìjǐ zhànwěn.
hold on
( keep hold ) 抓牢 zhuāláo ⇒ The rope was wet, but Nancy held on. → 绳子湿了,但南希仍然牢牢地抓着。 Shéngzi shī le, dàn Nánxī réngrán láoláo de zhuāzhe.
hold off
( challenge ) 使不能接近 shǐ bùnéng jiējìn ⇒ Alesi drove magnificently, holding off the challenge from Berger. → 阿勒西开得棒极了,使伯杰不能接近。 Ālèxī kāi de bàng jí le, shǐ Bójié bùnéng jiējìn.
hold forth
滔滔不绝(絕)地讲(講) tāotāo bùjué de jiǎng ⇒ Jenkins was there, holding forth on his favourite subject. → 詹金斯在那儿,滔滔不绝地讲述他最喜欢的话题。 Zhānjīnsī zàinàr, tāotāo bùjué de jiǎngshù tā zuì xǐhuan de huàtí.
hold down
( restrain : person ) 把 ... 按倒在地上 bǎ ... àndǎo zài dìshang ⇒ It took three men to hold him down. → 要3个男人才把他按在地上。 Yào sān gè nánrén cái bǎ tā àn zài dìshang.
hold back
( person, progress ) 阻拦(攔) zǔlán ⇒ She's very ambitious, so don't try to hold her back. → 她很有野心,别阻拦她。 Tā hěn yǒu yěxīn, bié zǔlán tā.
hold against
▶ to hold sth against sb 因某事对(對)某人记(記)仇 yīn mǒushì duì mǒurén jìchóu ⇒ He lost the case, but never held it against me. → 他输了这场官司,但从未因此而记恨过我。 Tā shūle zhè chǎng guānsi, dàn cóngwèi yīn cǐ ér jìhèn guo wǒ.