An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'hold up', with lots of examples in context
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Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs!
'Hold up' is a phrasal verb that is in common use in everyday English. You may already be familiar with it and its uses, however do you know all of them? For example, did you know that the phrase 'to hold someone up' can have both a positive and a negative meaning, depending on the context? Don't worry if you didn't as in this post I will explain all of the different meanings of this useful phrasal verb for you and give you lots of examples of it in context to help you learn and use it! So, without further ado, let's make a start. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end with your own example sentences 😊
HOLD UP: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 6 |
Past tense forms | Held up / Held up |
Separable? | Yes |
MEANINGS (Click to jump to each one)
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THE BASICS
Before we get started with the different meanings of 'hold up', let's first consider the words 'hold' and 'up' and what they mean individually.
The verb 'to hold' is a common and versatile verb in English that has a variety of different meanings. Perhaps the most obvious of these meanings and one which is highly relevant to this post is 'to have something in your arms or hands and keep it there for a period of time'.
My son always holds my hand when we go for a walk.
She held her newborn baby in her arms.
My friend was waiting for me at the airport and was holding a card with my name on it.
Other key meanings of the verb 'to hold' are 'to contain', 'to retain' and 'to organise' amongst others. Aside from 'hold up', the verb 'to hold' features in a number of different phrasal verbs including 'hold off', 'hold out', 'hold back' and of course 'hold up'.
Next, we have the particle 'up', which needs no introduction from me as it is one that you will all be very familiar with already. As you will know, the particle 'up' is usually used to mean being in or moving towards a higher position, relative to something else, or in a more abstract way, to talk about an increase of some sort. This meaning is also often transferred to the phrasal verbs in which 'up' appears. Additionally, it can also add ideas like improvement, completion, termination and arrival to phrasal verb meanings.
So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's dive into the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'hold up'....
MEANING 1: To hold something in an elevated position
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CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To hold high, to raise, to lift |
Separable? | Yes |
I always think it is a good idea to start these phrasal verb meanings with the easiest one and that is exactly what I will do in this post. For the first meaning of 'hold up', we have the combination of the literal meaning of the words 'hold' and 'up', which is simply 'to hold something in an elevated position for a period of time'. This period of time can either be short or long, depending on the reason for the 'holding up' action.
Typical situations in which this is used....
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You should also be aware that this application of 'hold up' can also sometimes encompass the action of moving your hand up into the higher position, similar to 'put up'. Moreover, when you hold something up, it is typically in an elevated position above your head, however it can also be used to mean above your waist or just in a higher position relative to where it was beforehand.
If you want to check that the bank note is genuine and not fake, hold it up to the light to check if there are hidden features.
John held his phone up as high as he could reach to take a video of the concert.
The demonstrators held up different banners during the protests.
In addition to objects, it is also possible to use this application when talking about holding your hand or hands up in the air, much like children in a classroom when they know the answer to a question. Furthermore, we also use the idiomatic expression 'to hold your hands up' when we admit that we have made a mistake.
I held my hand up for ages in class as I knew the answer to the question but the teacher didn't ask me.
We held our hands up in the air and waved them from side to side during the song.
I hold my hands up and admit that it was my fault that the computer systems crashed yesterday.
MEANING 2: To prevent something from falling
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CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To support, to hold, to bear, to carry, to prop up, to buttress |
Separable? | Yes |
Last year, I was having some work done on my house, which involved the removal of part of the external wall. The work took a long time to complete and so for a period of time, a whole part of my house was being supported and prevented from falling by a single metal pole, which was quite a scary thought! The reason that I am telling you this is because the second meaning of 'hold up' is 'to stop something from falling' and so you could say as an alternative that last year an entire side of my house was being held up by a piece of metal.
Nouns that this is often used with...
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To clarify, if one thing holds another thing up, it means that it stops the other thing from falling to the ground. In other words, it supports it and holds it in its place, which is an elevated or erect position. As with my example above with my own house, this is often used with buildings or parts of buildings.
The only thing holding up the whole side of this house is a metal rod.
The ceiling is currently being help up by scaffolding.
Moreover, something else that is prone to falling is people and we can also use 'hold up' to talk about when we support another person and stop them from falling over on the ground. This may be with one of your friends who has drunk a few too many glasses of wine and can't walk properly or it may be an elderly person who can no longer walk very well and needs assistance. The reason for their incapacity to walk is irrelevant, the key idea is that they are prevented from falling over.
Come on, you can make it. I'l hold you up and make sure that you don't fall.
When the footballer broke his leg in the middle of the game, it took two of his teammates to hold him up and walk him off the pitch.
MEANING 3: To delay someone or something
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CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To delay, to detain, to impede, to obstruct, to hinder, to set back |
Separable? | Yes |
The third meaning of 'hold up' is one that is in common usage in the busy modern world that we all live in and means 'to delay someone or something'.
Typical situations to use this application in:
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Usually, these delays (or hold-ups) are caused by something obstructing or blocking someone's progress or movement, which then prevents them from being where they are supposed to be at the agreed or correct time.
As they are therefore not late by choice and something has caused them to be late, you will find that this, grammatically, this application is used a lot in the passive form or with the causative verb 'get'.
Where are you? You were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago. What is holding you up?
I'm so sorry I am late, Roger. I got held up in the office by a long customer call and I couldn't get out of it.
Simon and Hayley will be about half an hour late as they've been held up in traffic.
Lucy got held up on her way to her job interview and ended up missing her slot.
We also have the noun form 'holdup (or alternatively 'hold-up') which is used to specify the delay.
Why are you so late? What is the hold-up?
I'll be there as fast as I can. There is some sort of holdup on the road ahead of me and I am in a traffic jam.
MEANING 4: To withstand difficulty or scrutiny
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CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To stand up, to be valid, to hold water |
Separable? | No |
The fourth meaning of 'hold up' is one that is a close synonym of one of the meanings of the phrasal verb 'stand up' (link here) and means 'to withstand difficulty or scrutiny'.
Use this when talking about....
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For this usage, one of the key words that we need to bear in mind is the verb 'remain'.
If we first start with the idea of withstanding difficulty or adversity, we are thinking mainly about businesses and organisations. When a business or a company survives a period of economic instability or difficulty and remains strong or does not go into liquidation, we can say that it 'held up' during the hard times.
We are very pleased to confirm that despite one of the biggest recessions in recent times, the business held up and reported a big profit for the last financial year.
Another way that this application may be used is with physical objects in our everyday lives that are faced with stresses and strains through their use. If these remain in good condition or functional and to not break, it is also possible to say that they 'held up'.
I don't think that my running shoes are going to hold up for much longer.
The plumber has made some temporary repairs to the pipes but will need to come back again next week to complete the job. Let's hope that the pipes hold up until then!
As I previously mentioned, we can also use 'hold up' to talk about something withstanding scrutiny or examination. This is perhaps used most in the world of crime and justice where 'hold up' can be applied to information about suspected criminals' alibis and statements. If information 'holds up', it means that it remains true following examination or scrutiny.
The team of detectives have been working on the suspect's statements all week and can now confirm that the information does not hold up. He will therefore be retained in custody for further questioning.
You should change that plea as it will not hold up in a court of law.
Lastly, one additional sub-usage that I have been hearing more and more recently is to do with with old TV shows and movies. If they are deemed by modern viewers (many of whom weren't even born when they were first released) to still be good or acceptable in today's world, then it is likely that you will hear that the show or film in question "still holds up today"....
The first Ghostbusters movie is excellent and definitely still holds up today.
On the whole, I enjoyed the series but there were definitely some references and outdated language that don't hold up well today.
MEANING 5: To make an example of something
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CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To exemplify, to typify, to symbolise |
Separable? | Yes |
As an English teacher, I am very keen on giving lots of examples of words, phrases and expressions in lessons as I believe that it is a vital part of the language learning process and helps students to understand how a particular word is used and in which contexts etc. This fifth meaning of 'hold up' is a bit similar to this as it is means 'to make an example of something', although the meaning is not exactly the same.
When I use examples in my lessons, I use them to show the student how to use a word, most of the time without any qualitative analysis involved (whether something is good or bad etc). With 'hold up' however, the idea is that a particular example is given to people (almost like it is being held up so that they can all see it) and then it is used to either be praised as something good or criticised as something bad. In other words, it is used to show people how to do something well or how to do it terribly!
The fast food chain is often held up by people as the bad guy of the fast food world, despite its many efforts to change its image over the last few years.
Laura's website is often held up as a great example of how to design a fresh and engaging site.
MEANING 6: To commit a robbery
Photo: Pexels
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To rob, to steal, to stick up, to ambush |
Separable? | Yes |
Our sixth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'hold up' is more of a dark and negative one than the others that we have looked at so far as it is all to do with crime and it specifically means 'to commit a robbery'.
This does not concern all robbery and theft though, but specifically robberies involving shops, stores, banks and other public places where money is held and can be stolen. This 'holding up' crime is normally carried out by a thief or group of thieves who use guns or other weapons as a way of threatening the employees of the establishment to give them the money. It should be noted that 'hold up' doesn't necessarily mean the money was successfully stolen, the general idea behind this meaning is that the thieves just use threats and violence to stop the activities of the business in an attempt to obtain money or goods. All in all, it is probably a very scary experience for everyone involved!
The manager of the store was held up at gunpoint by a gang of criminals who demanded the code to the safe.
Brian was planning on holding up his local post office but in the end he decided not to as he got scared.
Underneath the counter in the bank is a secret panic button that employees can press if the bank is every held up.
One other way that 'hold up' can be used, especially in American English, is as a command or request for someone to wait. Furthermore, It can also be used to ask someone to stop what they are saying, as you want to double check and confirm that you correctly understood what they said.
Are you guys going for lunch? Hold up, I will join you. Let me just send this email quickly.
Hold up, let me just get this straight in my head. Did you say that he wouldn't come with us tonight?
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We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'hold up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
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