variants
or hold-up
plural holdups or hold-ups
1
: delay
There was a holdup with my order.
What's the holdup? [=what is the reason for the delay?]
2
: a robbery carried out at gunpoint
held up; holding up; holds up
1
: to rob at gunpoint
3
: to call attention to : single out
his work was held up to ridicule
hold this up as perfection—
The Times Literary Supplement (London)
The Times Literary Supplement (London)
: to continue in the same condition without failing or losing effectiveness or force
she's holding up under the strain
music that holds up twenty years later
Examples of holdup in a Sentence
Noun
There have been a series of holdups at local banks.
a holdup in construction due to the weather
Verb
held up mail delivery until we had a permanent address
traffic was held up for miles by the accident
Recent Examples on the Web
Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
Roy indicated there was progress in assessing leadership’s plan on how to handle spending after conversations on the House floor during the holdup.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 4 Sep. 2025
D. T. Max, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Fanless operation is bliss in quiet rooms, and battery life still holds up for a full day.
—PC Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for holdup
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Noun
Whose idea was this, and what kinds of settler-colonial relations does this mock holdup invert?
—Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
Roy indicated there was progress in assessing leadership’s plan on how to handle spending after conversations on the House floor during the holdup.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
The towers would be held up by columns that soared upward through the church’s nave.
—D. T. Max, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Fanless operation is bliss in quiet rooms, and battery life still holds up for a full day.
—PC Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for holdup
Cite this Entry
“Holdup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holdup. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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