holdout
/ˈhoʊldˌaʊt/noun
holdout is spelled H-O-L-D-O-U-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, holdout means “One who refuses to give consent to an agreement in the hope of an improved offer; one who holds out; one who clings to a cause that has been mostly…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of holdout is holdouts.
How many letters and syllables are in holdout?
| Letters | 7: H-O-L-D-O-U-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,788th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is holdout?
Holdout appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce holdout?
- US /ˈhoʊldˌaʊt/
Holdout has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-holdout.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with holdout
Also written: hold out (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of holdout
- holdouts plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does holdout mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who refuses to give consent to an agreement in the hope of an improved offer; one who holds out; one who clings to a cause that has been mostly abandoned.
- 2
A device for cheating at card games by covertly holding a card out of play until it is wanted.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does holdout come from?
Deverbal from hold out.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).