Verb hold back has 5 senses
- check, turn back, arrest, stop, contain, hold back - hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of; "Arrest the downward trend"; "Check the growth of communism in Sout East Asia"; "Contain the rebel movement"; "Turn back the tide of communism"
--1 is one way to defend
Sample sentences:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
- restrain, suppress, keep, keep back, hold back - keep under control; keep in check; "suppress a smile"; "Keep your temper"; "keep your cool"
--2 is one way to prevent, keep
Sample sentences:
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP
- wait, hold off, hold back - wait before acting
--3 is one way to act, move
Sample sentence:
They hold back a long time
- retain, hold, keep back, hold back - secure and keep for possible future use or application; "The landlord retained the security deposit"; "I reserve the right to disagree"
--4 is one way to keep, hold on
Sample sentence:
They hold back the money
- conceal, hold back, hold in - hold back; keep from being perceived by others; "She conceals her anger well"
Sample sentence:
Somebody ----s something
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