To act with reserve; to contain one's full measure or power(verb)
To contain; stop(verb)
To delay, especially in school(verb)
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Use "hold back" in a sentence
"Sandbag levees had already been built to hold back the waters, and the bones now rested in a layer of thick mud and rotting vegetation, over which a tarpaulin had been stretched to protect them from the elements."
"Fine, I said, barely managing to hold back what could have been a ten-million-watt grin."
"The House Financial Services panel alone has held more than a dozen hearings on the law, in part to underscore to administration witnesses that some provisions — like forcing banks to hold back capital as a hedge against losses — will hurt business, according to the committee's chairman, Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala."