Meanings
ahold1
adverbahold (not comparable)
alternative a-hold
- not comparableobsoletenauticalBrought to lie as near to the windward as it can to get out to sea, and thereby held steady.
Lay her a hold, a hold, ſet her two courſes off to Sea againe, lay her off.
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]
ahold2
nounahold (uncountable)
alternative a-hold
- informaluncountableA hold, grip, grasp.
GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF!
2009, Tim Irwin, Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership, Thomas Nelson Inc., →ISBN, page 1211 more example
Uh-oh... I guess I shouldn't have given my last babysitter such a hard time. Somehow she got ahold of the video Mom took of me running around without my diaper ... and posted it on YouTube.
2009 May 21, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic)
Origin
ahold · adverb
- Englisha-
- Proto-Germanic*haldaną
- Proto-West Germanic*haldan
- Old Englishhealdan
- Middle Englishholden
- Englishhold
- Englishahold
Translations
German dicht am Wind, sich zusammenreißen
- dicht am Windnautical
- sich zusammenreißenTranslations
Polish ostrym kursem, uścisk
- ostrym kursemnautical
- uściskTranslations
Russian захва́т, уде́рживание
- захва́т (zaxvát)Translations
- уде́рживание (udérživanije)Translations
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with ahold
oldgoldholdsoldcoldboldthresholdfoldrolledmoldbeholdmanifoldmouldupholdwithholduntolduncontrolledunfoldpolledauldpatrolledwoldbowledholed
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
ahold. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ahold
MLA
“ahold.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ahold. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ahold,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ahold.
Source: ahold on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.