hold up
๐ Pronunciation
/hษสld สp/
Stress: primary stress on 'up'
particle 'up' usually stressed more than verb
๐จโ๐ฉโ๐งโ๐ฆ Word Family
| Word Class | Forms |
|---|---|
| Verbs | hold up, holds up, holding up, held up |
| Nouns | holdup |
| Adjectives | held-up |
Hyphenated in attributive position before nouns
๐ Phrasal Verb Structure
Base verb: holdParticle: up
Transitivity: both
๐ Meanings
Meaning 1
to delay or cause to be late
Formal equivalent: delay
ABSTRACT
“Traffic held up the delivery truck”
“Sorry I'm late – I was held up at work”
“The bad weather is holding up construction”
Meaning 2
to rob at gunpoint
Formal equivalent: rob
SEMI-LITERAL
“The bank was held up by armed robbers”
“They held up the convenience store”
“He was held up at gunpoint”
Meaning 3
to remain strong or valid
Formal equivalent: endure, persist
ABSTRACT
“Will this evidence hold up in court?”
“These shoes have held up well”
“Her argument doesn't hold up to scrutiny”
โ ๏ธ Separability Rules
Rule: OPTIONALLY SEPARABLE
Pronoun Placement
โ hold it up
โ hold up it
๐ก Think of it Like This
Think of physically lifting something to stop its progress
Memory aid: Visualize a stop sign being held up to halt traffic
Bank robbery sense comes from raising hands when being robbed
๐ Usage Patterns
Grammatical Contexts
Imperative: “Don't hold up the line!”
Continuous: “What's holding you up?”
Perfect: “The rain has held up our plans”
Passive: “The project was held up by bureaucracy”
Modal: “This might hold up in court”
Question: “What held you up?”
Negative: “Don't let that hold you up”
Common in:
โ ๏ธ Common Errors
โ The traffic hold up meโโ The traffic held me up
Wrong verb form and word order
High impact
โ Hold up itโโ Hold it up
Incorrect pronoun placement
โ The shoes are holding wellโโ The shoes are holding up well
Missing particle changes meaning
Medium impact
๐ Register & Alternatives
Formality: neutral
Single-verb alternatives
Formal: delay, obstruct, impede
Neutral: stop, wait
Informal: stall
Use phrasal verb: casual conversation, everyday situations
Use single verb: formal writing, legal documents
๐ Etymology
Origin: From physical act of lifting something to block progress