hold up
verb
Simple meaning
To detain by threatening, usually with a weapon, to commit robbery.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hohlduhpSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhoʊlˈdʌp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
idiomatic
To detain by threatening, usually with a weapon, in order to commit robbery.
Be the physical support of; carry the weight of
“The beam holds up the roof.”
intransitiveinformal
To wait or delay.
transitive
To impede; detain.
figurative
To highlight, as if lifting up for display.
transitive
To support or lift.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To detain by threatening, usually with a weapon, in order to commit robbery.
Used this way, hold up is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It comes across as direct, sometimes bluntly so.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Blunt and forceful
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.