held on

verb

Definition of held onnext
past tense of hold on
1
as in remained
to remain indefinitely in existence or in the same state the ancient beliefs still held on in remote mountain villages

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in waited
to remain in place in readiness or expectation of something hold on a minute—it's not your turn

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held on
  1. remained
  2. waited
  3. continued
  4. lasted
  5. persisted
Verb
  • The court remained silent as the verdicts were read.
    Adrian Sainz, TIME, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Oil markets have remained unusually stable over the past year since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israel, mainly due to the lack of any threat to the free flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf.
    David Blackmon, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of remained
Verb
  • The British team, with only a small lead, raced flawlessly while the Italians waited for mistakes that never came.
    Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 4 Oct. 2024
  • His administration waited until the fall of 2020, weeks before the presidential election, to release $13 billion in assistance for Puerto Rico's recovery.
    Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports, arkansasonline.com, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of waited
Verb
  • The company’s traditional TV division continued to struggle.
    Bruce Gil, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
  • The Jennings Creek Wildfire, along the New York-New Jersey border, continued to burn Wednesday and was about 30% contained.
    Melissa Chan, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
Definition of continued
Verb
  • Even though the strike lasted just three days, the cargo backlog is likely to take over a month to clear, according to project44, a supply chain data company in Chicago.
    Laura Curtis and Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg, TIME, 4 Oct. 2024
  • His tenure at the top lasted six months.
    Jean E. Palmieri, WWD, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of lasted
Verb
  • Such ideas have persisted in modern America, with dangerous consequences.
    Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesús / Made by History, TIME, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Even more remarkably, this effect persisted for at least two months.
    Bernard Marr, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of persisted
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near held on

held off (on)

held on

held one's breath

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Cite this Entry

“Held on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20on. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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