hold back
The phrase "hold back" is often used to describe actions of restraint or prevention, applicable in various contexts from emotional control to withholding information.
Definition
B2General
(common)To restrain or prevent someone or something from moving forward or progressing.
Example
- The barriers were set up to hold back the crowd.
- His injury held him back from competing in the race.
B2Emotional
(common)To control or restrain emotions or impulses from being expressed.
Example
- She had to hold back her tears during the sad movie.
- He struggled to hold back his anger when he heard the news.
B2Communication
(common)To keep information or feelings from being shared or disclosed.
Example
- I feel like he's holding something back from us.
- She decided to hold back her opinion until she had more information.
C1Education
(specific)To delay a student's progress to the next grade level.
Example
- The school decided to hold back the student for another year to improve their skills.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "hold back":
keep backhold offstay backdraw backhold inpull backhold withhold downhold outpush backhold tostand backhang behindhold upbite backstay behindhold overhold firehold ithold ontohold it inhold one's fireback offhold one's waterhold ontake backstep backhold tightstand behindhide behindrear backset backkeep downturn backkeep fromhold one's pisstake a back seatback awayfall behindsit on one's handshold one's breathhold it downfall backrow backrein upput offhold togethercut backwalk backlay backput the brakes onhit backput backback outat bayon holdthrow backon the back foot