hold off

verb

held off; holding off; holds off

transitive verb

1

: to block from an objective : delay

2

: to defer action on : postpone

hold off a decision

3

: to fight to a standoff : withstand

intransitive verb

: to defer or temporarily stop doing something

Synonyms

• defer
• delay
• hold over
• hold up
• lay over
• postpone
• put off
• put over
• remit
• shelve

Examples of hold off in a Sentence

we held off on accepting the invitation in the hopes that something better would come along

Recent Examples on the Web

Nevertheless, Los Angeles held off a furious rally from the Bengals and secured their seventh win of the season. —Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 20 Nov. 2024

While that’s over the majority threshold candidates need to win races outright, Watson held off on declaring victory as elections administrators in Travis, Williamson and Hays counties still had to count some provisional and mail-in ballots. —Ella McCarthy, Austin American-Statesman, 14 Nov. 2024

Scott held off a challenge from former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D), whom polls had shown trailing him in some cases by just a few percentage points. —Jared Gans, The Hill, 6 Nov. 2024

Harris stepped up to take Biden’s place just weeks before the Democratic National Convention, holding off the high-profile members of her party with their own presidential ambitions and the possibility of an open convention. —Stephanie Murray, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

hold off

verb

1

: to keep away : withstand

held off the attack

2

: postpone, delay

decided to hold off on the decision

will hold off production for the summer