as in postponing
to assign to a later time
we held off on accepting the invitation in the hopes that something better would come along
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holding off (on)
Verb
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These conditions pose challenges for travel, so exercise extra caution on the road or consider postponing your trip if possible.—
Bay Area Weather Report,
Mercury News,
23 Jan. 2026 -
But Texas women's basketball is postponing its game against Arkansas.—
Zoe Collins Rath,
Austin American Statesman,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Persons should consider delaying all travel.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Jan. 2026
-
These conditions can make driving challenging, so exercise extreme caution on the road, and if possible, consider delaying your trip.—
Southern California Weather Report,
Oc Register,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And moviegoers turned out to indies from Rosemead to The Chronology of Water, All That’s Left Of You and more, new and holding over, limited, wide and top ten.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
11 Jan. 2026
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MicroStrategy remains the leader among corporate crypto treasuries, holding over 638,000 bitcoins valued at an astonishing $71 billion.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Customers are also putting off purchases due to the back and forth on tariff levels.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
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Millions of Americans are shaving down their grocery budgets and putting off buying a home as wages fail to meet rising costs of living.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Hoyer made amends for his quiet winter by signing Bregman and acquiring starting pitcher Edward Cabrera in the same week, and Ricketts was absolved by finally opening his wallet and deferring $70 million like a real large-market owner.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Jan. 2026
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But as IndieWire’s Ben Travers explained in his Season 2 review, the latest installments get bogged down by world-building and franchise positioning — effectively deferring emotional resolution and narrative momentum too long for a game or a TV show.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
19 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Holding off (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holding%20off%20%28on%29. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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