To hold water

To hold water
Hold Hold, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Held}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Holding}. {Holden}, p. p., is obs. in elegant writing, though still used in legal language.] [OE. haldan, D. houden, OHG. hoten, Icel. halda, Dan. holde, Sw. h[*a]lla, Goth. haldan to feed, tend (the cattle); of unknown origin. Gf. {Avast}, {Halt}, {Hod}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To cause to remain in a given situation, position, or relation, within certain limits, or the like; to prevent from falling or escaping; to sustain; to restrain; to keep in the grasp; to retain. [1913 Webster]

The loops held one curtain to another. --Ex. xxxvi. 12. [1913 Webster]

Thy right hand shall hold me. --Ps. cxxxix. 10. [1913 Webster]

They all hold swords, being expert in war. --Cant. iii. 8. [1913 Webster]

In vain he seeks, that having can not hold. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]

France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue, . . . A fasting tiger safer by the tooth, Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. To retain in one's keeping; to maintain possession of, or authority over; not to give up or relinquish; to keep; to defend. [1913 Webster]

We mean to hold what anciently we claim Of deity or empire. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

3. To have; to possess; to be in possession of; to occupy; to derive title to; as, to hold office. [1913 Webster]

This noble merchant held a noble house. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

Of him to hold his seigniory for a yearly tribute. --Knolles. [1913 Webster]

And now the strand, and now the plain, they held. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

4. To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain. [1913 Webster]

We can not hold mortality's strong hand. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Death! what do'st? O, hold thy blow. --Grashaw. [1913 Webster]

He had not sufficient judgment and self-command to hold his tongue. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]

5. To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain. [1913 Webster]

Hold not thy peace, and be not still. --Ps. lxxxiii. 1. [1913 Webster]

Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost, Shall hold their course. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

6. To prosecute, have, take, or join in, as something which is the result of united action; as to, hold a meeting, a festival, a session, etc.; hence, to direct and bring about officially; to conduct or preside at; as, the general held a council of war; a judge holds a court; a clergyman holds a service. [1913 Webster]

I would hold more talk with thee. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

7. To receive and retain; to contain as a vessel; as, this pail holds milk; hence, to be able to receive and retain; to have capacity or containing power for. [1913 Webster]

Broken cisterns that can hold no water. --Jer. ii. 13. [1913 Webster]

One sees more devils than vast hell can hold. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

8. To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain. [1913 Webster]

Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught. --2 Thes. ii.15. [1913 Webster]

But still he held his purpose to depart. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

9. To consider; to regard; to esteem; to account; to think; to judge. [1913 Webster]

I hold him but a fool. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

I shall never hold that man my friend. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. --Ex. xx. 7. [1913 Webster]

10. To bear, carry, or manage; as he holds himself erect; he holds his head high. [1913 Webster]

Let him hold his fingers thus. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

{To hold a wager}, to lay or hazard a wager. --Swift.

{To hold forth}, (a) v. t.to offer; to exhibit; to propose; to put forward. ``The propositions which books hold forth and pretend to teach.'' --Locke. (b) v. i. To talk at length; to harangue.

{To held in}, to restrain; to curd.

{To hold in hand}, to toy with; to keep in expectation; to have in one's power. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

O, fie! to receive favors, return falsehoods, And hold a lady in hand. --Beaw. & Fl.

{To hold in play}, to keep under control; to dally with. --Macaulay.

{To hold off}, to keep at a distance.

{To hold on}, to hold in being, continuance or position; as, to hold a rider on.

{To hold one's day}, to keep one's appointment. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

{To hold one's own}. To keep good one's present condition absolutely or relatively; not to fall off, or to lose ground; as, a ship holds her own when she does not lose ground in a race or chase; a man holds his own when he does not lose strength or weight.

{To hold one's peace}, to keep silence.

{To hold out}. (a) To extend; to offer. ``Fortune holds out these to you as rewards.'' --B. Jonson. (b) To continue to do or to suffer; to endure. ``He can not long hold out these pangs.'' --Shak.

{To hold up}. (a) To raise; to lift; as, hold up your head. (b) To support; to sustain. ``He holds himself up in virtue.''--Sir P. Sidney. (c) To exhibit; to display; as, he was held up as an example. (d) To rein in; to check; to halt; as, hold up your horses. (e) to rob, usually at gunpoint; -- often with the demand to ``hold up'' the hands. (f) To delay.

{To hold water}. (a) Literally, to retain water without leaking; hence (Fig.), to be whole, sound, consistent, without gaps or holes; -- commonly used in a negative sense; as, his statements will not hold water. [Colloq.] (b) (Naut.) To hold the oars steady in the water, thus checking the headway of a boat. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • hold water — When you say that something does or does not hold water , it means that the point of view or argument put forward is or is not sound, strong or logical. For e.g., Saying we should increase our interest rates because everyone else is doing so will …   The small dictionary of idiomes

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  • hold water — {v. phr.} 1. To keep water without leaking. * /That pail still holds water./ 2. {informal} To prove true; stand testing; bear examination. Usually used in negative, interrogative, or conditional sentences. * /Ernest told the police a story that… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • hold water — {v. phr.} 1. To keep water without leaking. * /That pail still holds water./ 2. {informal} To prove true; stand testing; bear examination. Usually used in negative, interrogative, or conditional sentences. * /Ernest told the police a story that… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • hold\ water — v. phr. 1. To keep water without leaking. That pail still holds water. 2. informal To prove true; stand testing; bear examination. Usually used in negative, interrogative, or conditional sentences. Ernest told the police a story that wouldn t… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • hold water — tv. [for an idea, plan, etc.] to survive evaluation or scrutiny. □ Nothing you’ve said so far holds water. □ Her story doesn’t hold water …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • hold water — verb To withstand scrutiny or criticism; to be valid. Young man, he said, upon this point I can only say that your story is grossly improbable. It wont hold water …   Wiktionary

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