# holdout

> English word · Noun · frequency rank #56,808

## Definitions
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.

## Etymology
Deverbal from hold out.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/holdout