Definition of "hold" []

• To have and keep in one's grasp: held the reins tightly. (verb-transitive)
• To aim or direct; point: held a hose on the fire. (verb-transitive)
• To keep from falling or moving; support: a nail too small to hold the mirror; hold the horse steady; papers that were held together with staples. (verb-transitive)
• To sustain the pressure of: The old bridge can't hold much weight. (verb-transitive)
• To keep from departing or getting away: Hold the bus! Hold the dog until I find the leash. (verb-transitive)

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.

• "I was not entirely sure that I should be able to hold my own with him, but I at least had the purpose made to do as well as I could upon him; and now I say that I will not be the first to cry “hold."
• "Without saying anything of my intentions to any one, I mounted the railing, and taking hold of the centre rope, just below the upper block, I put one foot on the hook below the lower block, and stepped off just as I did so some one called out “hold on."
• "* puts me on hold for 5 minutes -I still have the customer on hold*"