Question
Updated on
19 May 2022
- Japanese
-
English (US)
Question about English (US)
What does hold on mean?
What does hold on mean?
Answers
19 May 2022
Featured answer
- English (US)
It means "wait a second", which can be both literally "wait for a moment," and "that's surprising!" It's a bit hard to explain, so I'll give some examples of when you would use it.
For the "wait for a moment" meaning:
"You walk so fast! Hold on, I need to catch up!"
"Hold on, I have to go use the toilet." (If you're hanging out with someone and have to use the restroom, for example.)
"Hold on while I look that up." (If you need to look up something someone said to you, for example.)
"Hold on while I reconnect." (If you got disconnected from an online video game.)
For the "that's surprising" meaning:
Person A: "I had to get dog food yesterday."
Person B:"Hold on, didn't you say you had a cat?"
Person A: "Last year I went to Italy."
Person B: "Hold on, really? Can you tell me more about that?"
Person A: "I was in the news the other day."
Person B: "Hold on, that was you??"
Instead of hold on, you can also say "wait," "wait a second," "wait a minute," or "hold up." All sound perfectly natural, including "hold on."
The literal definition of "hold on" is to grab onto something and not let go. All of these meanings are used commonly in English!
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- English (US)
- English (US)
It can mean two things.
1. To steady yourself or support yourself with your hands.
"These stairs are not safe. Hold on tightly to the handrails."
"The plane is hitting some turbulence. Fasten your seat belt and hold on."
2. To wait. To pause.
"Hold on. You're walking too fast and I can't keep up."
"Stop yelling at me to hurry. I'm almost ready. Just hold on."
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- English (US)
It means "wait a second", which can be both literally "wait for a moment," and "that's surprising!" It's a bit hard to explain, so I'll give some examples of when you would use it.
For the "wait for a moment" meaning:
"You walk so fast! Hold on, I need to catch up!"
"Hold on, I have to go use the toilet." (If you're hanging out with someone and have to use the restroom, for example.)
"Hold on while I look that up." (If you need to look up something someone said to you, for example.)
"Hold on while I reconnect." (If you got disconnected from an online video game.)
For the "that's surprising" meaning:
Person A: "I had to get dog food yesterday."
Person B:"Hold on, didn't you say you had a cat?"
Person A: "Last year I went to Italy."
Person B: "Hold on, really? Can you tell me more about that?"
Person A: "I was in the news the other day."
Person B: "Hold on, that was you??"
Instead of hold on, you can also say "wait," "wait a second," "wait a minute," or "hold up." All sound perfectly natural, including "hold on."
The literal definition of "hold on" is to grab onto something and not let go. All of these meanings are used commonly in English!
Highly-rated answerer
Was this answer helpful?
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