Definitions

1. Verb:
   • To pin down, to hold in place: To prevent someone or something from moving forward or leaving a specific location, often by applying pressure or force.
   • To delay, to stall: To keep someone occupied or engaged in order to prevent them from proceeding with their intended action or plan.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Lực lượng của chúng ta đã thành công trong việc cầm chân địch tại ngã ba đường. (Our forces successfully pinned the enemy down at the crossroads.)
  • Cô ấy cố gắng cầm chân khách hàng bằng những câu chuyện phiếm để đồng nghiệp có thời gian chuẩn bị hợp đồng. (She tried to stall the client with small talk so her colleague would have time to prepare the contract.)
  • Chiến thuật này nhằm mục đích cầm chân đối thủ, không cho họ mở rộng thị trường. (This tactic aims to pin down the competitor, preventing them from expanding their market share.)

Advanced Usage

• "cầm chân" in a strategic or business context: Often used to describe a defensive or delaying tactic to neutralize an opponent's advantage.
  • Đội bóng dùng lối chơi phòng ngự chặt để cầm chân đối thủ mạnh hơn. (The team used tight defensive play to pin down the stronger opponent.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ghìm chân: A close synonym, also meaning to hold back or restrain. It can sometimes imply a slightly more forceful or physical restraint.
  • Anh ta ghìm chân con chó lại để nó không chạy ra đường. (He held the dog back to prevent it from running into the street.)

Synonyms

• Kìm hãm: To restrain, to hold back (often used for progress or development).
• Làm chậm lại: To slow down.
• Trì hoãn: To delay, to postpone.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Giữ chân: While often meaning "to retain" (e.g., an employee), it can overlap with "cầm chân" in the sense of physically or socially preventing someone from leaving a place.
  • Cơn mưa lớn đã giữ chân chúng tôi lại trong quán cà phê. (The heavy rain kept us in the coffee shop.)

Related Idioms

• "Cầm cự": To hold out, to endure. This idiom focuses more on sustaining a position under pressure rather than specifically immobilizing an opponent. It is related but not identical.
  • Đơn vị ấy phải cầm cự cho đến khi viện binh tới. (That unit had to hold out until reinforcements arrived.)

1. Pin down
   • Cầm chân địch
     To pin the enemy down