as in limited
to set bounds or an upper limit for
efforts to hold down taxes keep running up against the legislature's ingrained unwillingness to cut spending
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Recent Examples of held down
Solarization is the process of killing a lawn or an expanse of weeds by soaking it with a hose or a sprinkler system and then covering it with clear plastic, held down by rocks or bricks.
—
Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 11 Sep. 2025
Students described being held down and having teammates rub their genitals on their faces, being groped in locker rooms, and in some cases penetrated with a broomstick.
—Hannah Dreyfus, AZCentral.com, 31 Aug. 2025
My mother held down three jobs at one time to support us.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2025
Bob Sirott and John Records Landecker, who held down afternoon and evening shifts respectively for much of the 1970s on WLS, are reuniting on the air at WGN for a three-hour tour of anecdotes, DJ interviews, vintage jingles and listener calls.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
In 2021, as officers held down a Taylor man who had fled from a traffic stop, Furman allegedly kicked the man multiple times in his leg and ankle while he was being handcuffed.
—Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Their shelter is a patch of plastic and tarp held down by rocks, near the edge of a displacement zone in southwest Deir al-Balah, where Israel was engaged in a military operation from July 20 to 22.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Atlantic, 5 Aug. 2025
Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 11 Sep. 2025
Students described being held down and having teammates rub their genitals on their faces, being groped in locker rooms, and in some cases penetrated with a broomstick.
—Hannah Dreyfus, AZCentral.com, 31 Aug. 2025
My mother held down three jobs at one time to support us.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2025
Bob Sirott and John Records Landecker, who held down afternoon and evening shifts respectively for much of the 1970s on WLS, are reuniting on the air at WGN for a three-hour tour of anecdotes, DJ interviews, vintage jingles and listener calls.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
In 2021, as officers held down a Taylor man who had fled from a traffic stop, Furman allegedly kicked the man multiple times in his leg and ankle while he was being handcuffed.
—Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Their shelter is a patch of plastic and tarp held down by rocks, near the edge of a displacement zone in southwest Deir al-Balah, where Israel was engaged in a military operation from July 20 to 22.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Atlantic, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for held down
Verb
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The corporations’ participation was originally limited to a select set of crops, such as tomatoes.—
Max Blau,
ProPublica,
16 Sep. 2025
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Customers will be limited to one single box per order.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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When free to move, DPAC glows orange, but when restricted (like when stretched or bent), DPAC glows blue.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
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However, to watch the Irish version of The Traitors on RTÉ in the US, Americans will first need a VPN, a service that allows users to set their computer’s location to another country and access websites that would otherwise be restricted by location.—
Jenzia Burgos,
StyleCaster,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Held down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20down. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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