Meanings
present singular third person holds one's tongue · participle present holding one's tongue · participle past held one's tongue · past held one's tongue
- idiomaticTo refrain from talking about something.
I don't like his political ideas, but I will hold my tongue.
2 more examples
“Hold your tongue, beadle,” said the second old gentleman, when Mr. Bumble had given vent to this compound adjective. “I beg your worship’s pardon,” said Mr. Bumble, incredulous of his having heard aright,—“did your worship speak to me?” “Yes—hold your tongue.”
1837 March, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “Relates How Oliver Twist Was Very Near Getting a Place, Which Would Not Have Been a Sinecure”, in Oliver Twist; […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], published 1838, →OCLC, page 48Except in the case of personal attacks, that space is reserved for readers' opinions, and we on the staff agree to hold our tongues (despite our opinionated natures) and leave it to letter-readers to form their own judgments.
1986 February 15, GCN staff, “Our Movement Is No Place for Jew-hating”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 31, page 4
Translations
Arabic صَمَتَ
- صَمَتَ (ṣamata)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Chinese Mandarin 保持沉默
- 保持沉默 (bǎochí chénmò)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Czech držet jazyk za zuby
- držet jazyk za zubyrefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Danish tie, tie stille
- tierefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- tie stillerefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Finnish purra kieltänsä, pitää suunsa kiinni
- purra kieltänsärefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- pitää suunsa kiinnirefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
French tenir sa langue
- tenir sa languerefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
German den Mund halten
- den Mund haltenrefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Greek κρατάω το στόμα μου κλειστό, κρατώ το στόμα μου κλειστό
- κρατάω το στόμα μου κλειστό (kratáo to stóma mou kleistó)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- κρατώ το στόμα μου κλειστό (krató to stóma mou kleistó)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Hungarian befogja a száját
- befogja a szájátrefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Icelandic þegja þunnu hljóði
- þegja þunnu hljóðirefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Italian tenere a freno la lingua, tenere la bocca chiusa
- tenere a freno la linguarefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- tenere la bocca chiusarefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Japanese 噤む, 黙りこくる
- 噤む (tsugumu)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- 黙りこくる (damarikokuru)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Latin taceō, compesco linguam
- taceōrefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- compesco linguamrefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- favete linguisrefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Māori whakatōngā
- whakatōngārefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Polish trzymać język za zębami
- trzymać język za zębamirefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Portuguese morder a língua
- morder a línguarefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Romanian tăcea, a-și ține gura
- tăcearefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- a-și ține gurarefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Russian придержа́ть язы́к, держа́ть язы́к за зуба́ми
- придержа́ть язы́к (prideržátʹ jazýk)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- держа́ть язы́к за зуба́ми (deržátʹ jazýk za zubámi)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- молча́ть как ры́ба (molčátʹ kak rýba)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- молча́ть как ры́ба об лёд (molčátʹ kak rýba ob ljod)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- набра́ть воды́ в рот (nabrátʹ vodý v rot)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Spanish callarse, guardar silencio
- callarserefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- guardar silenciorefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- mantener la boca cerradarefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- morderse la lenguarefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- cerrar el picorefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Swedish knipa igen, knipa käft
- knipa igenrefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- knipa käftrefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
- tigarefrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Yiddish בײַסן זיך די צונג
- בײַסן זיך די צונג (baysn zikh di tsung)refrain from talking about something — see also shut up
Cite this entry
hold one's tongue. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20one's%20tongue
“hold one's tongue.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20one's%20tongue. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hold one's tongue,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20one's%20tongue.
Source: hold one's tongue on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.