hold up

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hold-up" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hold up” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To wait or delay.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hold-up · hold up · English

hold up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for hold up
PropertyValue
Headwordhold up
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hold up” in English

hold upfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hold up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 10 senses are on record.

hold up doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is hold up, spelled H-O-L-D- -U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To wait or delay.
  2. 2
    To impede; detain.
  3. 3
    To impede; detain.
  4. 4
    To support or lift.
  5. 5
    To support or lift.
  6. 6
    To support or lift.
  7. 7
    To persist.
  8. 8
    To persist.
  9. 9
    To persist.
  10. 10
    To persist.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hold up appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Hold up a minute. I want to check something.
  2. I've got to get to work now. Why are you holding me up?

This word in other languages

aguaitar(Español)retenir(Français)warten(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hold up"?
"hold up" is spelled H-O-L-D- -U-P.
What does "hold up" mean?
As a verb, "hold up" means: To wait or delay.
What language does "hold up" come from?
"hold up" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list