1
general::
Phrase(s): on hold
1. Lit. waiting; temporarily halted. • The building project is on hold while we try to find money to complete it. • We put our wedding plans on hold until we finished school. 2. Fig. left waiting on a telephone line. • I hate to call up someone and then end up on hold. • I waited on hold for ten minutes when I called city hall.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
1. In a state of temporary interruption, but not disconnection, during a telephone call, as in While I was on hold, I checked my calendar for when I could schedule a meeting, or They had to put me on hold while they looked up my account. [c. 1960] 2. In a state of postponement or delay, as in When she was transferred, they had to put their romance on hold. This figurative usage is a broadened sense of def. 1. [Colloquial; c. 1970]
American Heritage Idioms