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Phrase(s): hold up (for someone or something)
Go to hold up ;wait up (for someone or something)., Phrase(s): hold someone or something up
1. Lit. to keep someone or something upright. • Johnny is falling asleep. Please hold him up until I prepare the bed for him. • Hold up the window sash while I prop it open. 2. Fig. to rob someone or a group. • Some punk tried to hold me up. • The mildlooking man held up the bank and shot a teller. 3. Fig. to delay someone or something. • Driving the kids to school held me up. • An accident on Main Street held up traffic for thirty minutes., Phrase(s): hold up
1. Lit. to endure; to last a long time. • How long will this cloth hold up? • I want my money back for this chair. It isn’t holding up well. 2. and hold up (for someone or something) to wait; to stop and wait for someone or something. • Hold up for Wallace. He’s running hard to catch up to us. • Hold up a minute., Phrase(s): hold up (on someone or something)
to delay or postpone further action on someone or something. • I know you are getting ready to choose someone, but hold up on Tom. There may be someone better. • Hold up on the project, would you? • We need to hold up for a while longer.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
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noun robbery ADJ. armed | bank VERB + HOLD-UP carry out delay ADJ. lengthy | traffic
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
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1. Offer or present as an example, as in The teacher held Bernie's essay up as a model for the class to follow. [c. 1600] 2. Obstruct or delay, as in We were held up in traffic. [c. 1900] 3. Rob, as in He was held up in a dark alley, with no help nearby. This usage, which gave rise to the noun holdup for a robbery, alludes to the robbers' demand that the victims hold their hands high. [Late 1800s] 4. Also, hold out. Continue to function without losing force or effectiveness, endure. For example, We held up through that long bitter winter, or The nurse was able to hold out until someone could relieve her. [Late 1500s] 5. See HOLD ONE'S HEAD HIGH.
American Heritage Idioms