English Dictionary: held | by the DICT Development Group |
3 results for held | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Held \Held\, imp. & p. p. of {Hold}. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Hold \Hold\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Held}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Holding}. {Holden}, p. p., is obs. in elegant writing, though still used in legal language.] [OE. haldan, D. houden, OHG. hoten, Icel. halda, Dan. holde, Sw. h[86]lla, Goth. haldan to feed, tend (the cattle); of unknown origin. Gf. {Avast}, {Halt}, {Hod}.] 1. To cause to remain in a given situation, position, or relation, within certain limits, or the like; to prevent from falling or escaping; to sustain; to restrain; to keep in the grasp; to retain. The loops held one curtain to another. --Ex. xxxvi. 12. Thy right hand shall hold me. --Ps. cxxxix. 10. They all hold swords, being expert in war. --Cant. iii. 8. In vain he seeks, that having can not hold. --Spenser. France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue, . . . A fasting tiger safer by the tooth, Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold. --Shak. 2. To retain in one's keeping; to maintain possession of, or authority over; not to give up or relinquish; to keep; to defend. We mean to hold what anciently we claim Of deity or empire. --Milton. 3. To have; to possess; to be in possession of; to occupy; to derive title to; as, to hold office. This noble merchant held a noble house. --Chaucer. Of him to hold his seigniory for a yearly tribute. --Knolles. And now the strand, and now the plain, they held. --Dryden. 4. To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain. We can not hold mortality's strong hand. --Shak. Death! what do'st? O,hold thy blow. --Grashaw. He hat not sufficient judgment and self-command to hold his tongue. --Macaulay. 5. To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain. Hold not thy peace, and be not still. --Ps. lxxxiii. 1. Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost, Shall hold their course. --Milton. 6. To prosecute, have, take, or join in, as something which is the result of united action; as to, hold a meeting, a festival, a session, etc.; hence, to direct and bring about officially; to conduct or preside at; as, the general held a council of war; a judge holds a court; a clergyman holds a service. I would hold more talk with thee. --Shak. 7. To receive and retain; to contain as a vessel; as, this pail holds milk; hence, to be able to receive and retain; to have capacity or containing power for. Broken cisterns that can hold no water. --Jer. ii. 13. One sees more devils than vast hell can hold. --Shak. 8. To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain. Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught. --2 Thes. ii.15. But still he held his purpose to depart. --Dryden. 9. To consider; to regard; to esteem; to account; to think; to judge. I hold him but a fool. --Shak. I shall never hold that man my friend. --Shak. The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. --Ex. xx. 7. 10. To bear, carry, or manage; as he holds himself erect; he holds his head high. Let him hold his fingers thus. --Shak. {To hold a wager}, to lay or hazard a wager. --Swift. {To hold forth}, to offer; to exhibit; to propose; to put forward. [bd]The propositions which books hold forth and pretend to teach.[b8] --Locke. {To held in}, to restrain; to curd. {To hold in hand}, to toy with; to keep in expectation; to have in one's power. [Obs.] O, fie! to receive favors, return falsehoods, And hold a lady in hand. --Beaw. & Fl. {To hold in play}, to keep under control; to dally with. --Macaulay. {To hold off}, to keep at a distance. {To hold on}, to hold in being, continuance or position; as, to hold a rider on. {To hold one's day}, to keep one's appointment. [Obs.] --Chaucer. {To hold one's own}. |