What does "holdback" mean?
A restraint; a device or part of a device that operates to restrain.
Holdback
noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A restraint; a device or part of a device that operates to restrain.
- Grammar: holdback is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: arrest, arrestation, arrestment, bearing rein.
- Useful contrasts: thumbs up.
- Usage evidence: In a furnace, the combination of an upwardly moving holdback and a downwardly moving dumping grate, of interconnected means for conjointly elevating said holdback and partially lowering said grate and then oscillating said grate without appreciably moving said holdback.
How to use "holdback"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "holdback" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "holdback" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "holdback" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "holdback" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "holdback" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "arrest" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "holdback", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A restraint; a device or part of a device that operates to restrain. countable, uncountable
"In a furnace, the combination of an upwardly moving holdback and a downwardly moving dumping grate, of interconnected means for conjointly elevating said holdback and partially lowering said grate and then oscillating said grate without appreciably moving said holdback."
- 2 A restraint; a device or part of a device that operates to restrain.; The projection or loop, on the thill of a vehicle, to which a strap of the harness is attached, to hold back a carriage when going downhill, or in backing. Also, the strap or part of the harness so used. countable, uncountable
"All those devices, which heretofore have been constructed, wherein a spring has been applied as part of the holdback, are subject to derangement, owing to the uncertain action of the spring employed, and a liability of the sprint to get out of order, thus detracting from their efficiency."
- 3 A delay in the movement of solute due to the slowing effects of diffusion countable, uncountable
"Holdback is easier to determine than the dispersion coefficient, and where scatter of data is serious, mixing properties are easier to describe in terms of holdback."
- 4 Income that is set aside for eventualities such as customer returns, seasonal fluctuations, performance bonuses, unexpected costs, etc. countable, uncountable
"The community Opportunity Bonus Fund incorporates a $250 million bonus pool, which would operate in the same manner as the original performance holdback."
- 5 A portion of the money that is owed to someone which is not paid, but instead held as security, until the entire job or contract has been successfully completed. countable, uncountable
"Holdback arrangements may be viewed as the reverse of kickbacks. There were nine retailers who reported a holdback requirement by finance companies."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 Money that a buyer does not pay at the time of purchase, but which is paid afterward (sometimes in installments, sometimes on a specified date). countable, uncountable
"Accordingly, credit enhancement was provided by a 7.5 percent "holdback" whereby the purchasers withheld 7.5 percent of the purchase price at the closing."
- 7 The difference between a dealer's cost and the manufacturer's suggested retail price. countable, uncountable
"The discount holdback is a part of the overall discount enjoyed by all dealers of Dodge vehicles, and it is inconspicuously noted on each invoice that petitioner receives. The purpose of the discount holdback is to place Dodge dealers in a better competititve position with their rivals by placing an artifically high floor on the invoice cost of new vehicles and making it appear that each vehicle costs the dealer more than it actually does."
- 8 A time period during which sales of a specific security or commodity cannot occur. countable, uncountable
"Schedule 1.02 should list each Shareholder and the Shareholder's proportional share of the Purchase Price, including the amounts scheduled to be distributed from the Escrow Fund after the holdback period has expired."
- 9 A time period after the first release of a creative work before it can be distributed or adapted to other channels. countable, uncountable
"It called for a rights framework which delivered a "clear, consistent and timely rights regime for all platforms" and minimum holdback periods."
- 10 A legal provision for restricting distributions to a trust beneficiary under certain conditions. countable, uncountable
"If such a holdback provision applies to income being paid from a life estate power of appointment trust (or to the exercisability of the general power of appointment of such a trust), which has been created either to qualify for the marital deduction or the orphan's deduction, obviously such a holdback clause will disqualify the property in a trust for the deduction."
- 11 The withholding of permits to extract a natural resource. countable, uncountable
"It is only a holdback for resource development, and with the increasing use by people of these resources, it is coming to a critical stage, Mr. Secretary, it doesn't seem to me that we are going to be able to hold back too much longer."
- 12 A designation of some details about a crime that the police deliberately do not reveal to the public. countable, uncountable
"The result was less a policy as much as a culture of information management among the inner sanctum of detectives working an open and active case, on in which there were strict safeguards placed around what became a nearly universal policy in holdback evidence."
- 13 A random subset of a body of data that is not used in the main analysis, but rather reserved for other purposes, such as validation. countable, uncountable
"In the holdback methods, a sample of the observations is withheld (the holdback sample) while the remaining observations are used to train a neural net."
Verb
- 1 To set up a holdback.
"Only 20 percent of the "debtors' attorney" judges normally don't holdback, compared to 44 percent of the other cohort."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
thumbs up
Example
"In a furnace, the combination of an upwardly moving holdback and a downwardly moving dumping grate, of interconnected means for conjointly elevating said holdback and partially lowering said grate and then oscillating said grate without appreciably moving said holdback."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "holdback"?
Common synonyms include: arrest, arrestation, arrestment, bearing rein, bit, blockade.
How do you use "holdback" in a sentence?
In a furnace, the combination of an upwardly moving holdback and a downwardly moving dumping grate, of interconnected means for conjointly elevating said holdback and partially lowering said grate and then oscillating said grate without appreciably moving said holdback.
Etymology
From hold + back.