Definition

1. Verb (transitive): To resist or keep someone or something at a distance; to prevent from advancing or succeeding.
2. Verb (intransitive): To delay or postpone an action; to wait.

Usage

• As a transitive verb, "hold off" is followed by a direct object (the thing or person being resisted).
  • We must hold off the competition.
• As an intransitive verb, it is often followed by a prepositional phrase (e.g., "on," "until") or an infinitive ("to") to indicate what is being delayed.
  • Let's hold off on a decision.
  • He decided to hold off until he had more information.

Examples

• Transitive usage (resisting):
  • The small garrison managed to hold off the enemy attack for three days.
  • I'm trying to hold off my hunger until dinner time.
• Intransitive usage (delaying):
  • If the rain holds off, we can have our picnic.
  • The company will hold off on launching the new product until next quarter.

Advanced Usage

• "Hold off on (something)": A common phrase meaning to delay a specific action or decision.
  • The board decided to hold off on the merger talks.
• "Hold off (someone/something) for a period": To successfully resist for a specific duration.
  • They held off the creditors for another month.

Variants and Related Words

• Holdout (noun): A person or group that resists agreement or refuses to accept something.
  • He was the last holdout against the new policy.

Synonyms

• Delay, postpone, put off, defer (for the "wait" meaning).
• Resist, repel, fend off, keep at bay (for the "resist" meaning).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Hold back: To hesitate or to prevent something from progressing. (Similar to "hold off" in the sense of restraint, but "hold back" often implies an internal hesitation or a physical restraint, while "hold off" often implies an external threat or a planned delay).
  • She held back her tears. (Internal restraint)
  • The dam held back the floodwaters. (Physical restraint)
• Hold on: To wait (often on the phone) or to grip tightly.
  • Hold on a moment, please.

Related Idioms

• Hold the line: To maintain a position, especially against opposition or difficulty. This is related to the "resist" meaning of "hold off."
  • Our job is to hold the line on spending this year.

Verb

1. wait before acting
   • the scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment
2. resist and fight to a standoff
   • Dallas had enough of a lead to hold the Broncos off