hold back
English · Thesaurus
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hold back
verb holds back · holding back · held back
-
To act with reserve; to contain one's full measure or power.
Don't hold back. Hit it as hard as you can.
Similar: pull punches
- To contain; stop. The dam can't hold back that much water.
- To delay the progress of, especially in school. He's a year older than his classmates, because he was held back in second grade.
Translations
Every language
verb act with reserve
| Español | frenarse, refrenarse, contenerse, moderarse, reservarse, enfrenarse |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | sich zügeln, sich zurückhalten, sich bremsen |
| Italiano | fare complimenti |
| Русский | сде́рживать sdérživatʹ, сде́рживаться sdérživatʹsja, приде́рживать |
verb to contain; to stop
| Deutsch | zurückhalten, aufhalten, bremsen, stoppen |
|---|---|
| Русский | уде́рживать udérživatʹ, держа́ть deržátʹ |
verb delay the progress of
| Español | retrotraer, anquilosar, impedir el avance de, retrasar el progreso de |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | hemmen, bremsen, einengen, aufhalten, zurückhalten |
| Русский | приде́рживать / замедля́ть разви́тие pridérživatʹ / zamedljátʹ razvítije, оставля́ть на второ́й год ostavljátʹ na vtorój god |
Talk about this word "hold back." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hold%20back. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hold back. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hold%20back "hold back." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hold%20back.
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@misc{hold_back_2026,
title = {hold back},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hold%20back},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
