HELD DOWN Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

held down

verb

past tense of hold down

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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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of held down After Caltech, Allen held down a job for only about a year before starting work as a tutor with C2 Education in 2020 and going on to earn a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills, in 2025. —

Asra Q. Nomani , Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 26 Apr. 2026 Thieneman slides into the spot that Harrison Smith held down for over a decade. —

Nick Harris april 20, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2026 Ron Marinaccio, Kyle Hart, Bradgley Rodriguez and Miller held down the Angels the rest of the way. —

ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026 Matt Waldron held down the fort for three months when injuries ravaged the Padres’ starting rotation in 2024. —

Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026 Good art can never be held down! —

Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Apr. 2026 Matt McCoy and Samson Okunlola split reps at left guard, Anez Cooper held down his spot at right guard and James Brockermeyer joined the team via the transfer portal to start at center. —

Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026 According to charging documents, Contreras Aguilar conspired with other MS-13 members to lure a 14-year-old boy believed to be cooperating with law enforcement to a park in Fairfax County, where the teenager was held down, slain, and buried by the Salvadoran gang. —

Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 24 Mar. 2026 That said, one long-term media partner that’ll be monitoring the potential downstream effects of the heavying-up is NBC, which has held down the primetime Thanksgiving slot since 2006. —

Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 11 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held down

Verb

But as those inventories continue to be depleted, the market’s ability to absorb shocks is becoming increasingly limited.

— , CNBC, 18 May 2026
Cade Cunningham, who finished fifth in MVP voting, was limited to just 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

— Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 18 May 2026