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Definition of "withhold" []

  • To keep in check; restrain. (verb-transitive)
  • To refrain from giving, granting, or permitting. See Synonyms at keep. (verb-transitive)
  • To deduct (withholding tax) from an employee's salary. (verb-transitive)
  • To refrain or forbear. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "withhold" in a sentence
  • "And as you've learned, if you withhold from a woman something she deeply desires, then she'll surely find a way to withhold something that you desire."
  • "There is clear evidence at this point that the Conservative government has colluded with witnesses before the parliamentary committee looking at allegations of torture in Afghanistan, by furnishing them with crucial documents that it continues to withhold from the committee."
  • "The company warned that until its unit is able to satisfy the FDA with its responses, the regulator may in the near term withhold approval of pending new drug applications listing the Cranbury facility as the manufacturer."