abhalten
German, verb
abhalten is spelled A-B-H-A-L-T-E-N (8 letters) and appears 7.8 times per million words in written German, the 8,702nd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Abhalten is a German verb meaning “to keep off, away, or out; to hold off” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Abhalten is a different word: “gerund of abhalten”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “jemanden an etwas hindern, von etwas fernhalten”.
What does abhalten mean in English?
verb
- 1
to keep off, away, or out; to hold off
- 2
to stop (someone from doing something); to block; to hold back or up
- 3
to hold (a service, ceremony, etc.)
- 4
to hold (a child while it relieves itself)
- 5
to change the direction from
noun
- 1
neutergerund of abhalten
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. jemanden an etwas hindern, von etwas fernhalten 2. etwas veranstalten 3. (ein Kleinkind im Freien mit nacktem Podex zum Urinieren) über dem Boden halten
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of abhalten
- hält ab present singular third-person
- hielt ab past
- abgehalten participle past
- haben auxiliary
- 7 strong
- abhaltend participle present
- abzuhalten infinitive infinitive-zu
- halte ab first-person indicative present
- halten ab first-person indicative plural
- hältst ab indicative present second-person
- haltet ab indicative plural present
- haltest ab second-person singular subjunctive
- hielten ab first-person indicative plural
- hielte ab first-person singular subjunctive
- hieltest ab indicative preterite second-person
- hieltst ab indicative preterite second-person
- hieltet ab indicative plural preterite
- halte ab! imperative singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to abhalten
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is abhalten in German?
abhalten appears 7.8 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).