hold in contempt

verb

To judge someone to have been in contempt of court.

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Meanings

verbhold in contempt (third-person singular simple present holds in contempt, present participle holding in contempt, simple past and past participle held in contempt)

present singular third person holds in contempt · participle present holding in contempt · participle past held in contempt · past held in contempt

  1. lawTo judge someone to have been in contempt of court.

    The Meta chief was flanked by people wearing the Meta Ray-Ban artificial intelligence glasses, and the judge in the courtroom threatened to hold anyone recording with the devices in contempt.

    2026 February 18, Sanya Mansoor, “Zuckerberg grilled in landmark social media trial over teen mental health”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2026
  2. figurativelyTo consider someone unworthy of respect.
Cite this entry
APA

hold in contempt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20in%20contempt

MLA

“hold in contempt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20in%20contempt. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hold in contempt,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20in%20contempt.

Source: hold in contempt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.