View synonyms for

hold back

verb

to restrain or be restrained
tr to withhold
he held back part of the payment

noun

a strap of the harness joining the breeching to the shaft, so that the horse can hold back the vehicle
something that restrains or hinders

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, keep back .

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Giuffre spent years sharing all the details of what she endured, making it unlikely she was holding back something that needed "silencing," not that conspiracists can reason based on evidence like that.

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Some experts believe the rising cost of employing people is making businesses hold back on hiring new staff.

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At first, protesters were held back at roadblocks by tear gas and truncheons, then police started using water cannons and rubber bullets.

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Could India hold back or divert the Indus basin's waters, depriving Pakistan of its lifeline?

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Hundreds of ice shelves surround about three-quarters of today's Antarctic ice sheet, helping to hold back its vast glaciers.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

holdback hold button

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