hold one's water

verb

To restrain one's urge to urinate.

“Hold your water, I'll get to you in a minute.”

Similar
hold itabideback that train upbidebide one's timeexpectdeferhang on
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Meanings

verbhold one's water (third-person singular simple present holds one's water, present participle holding one's water, simple past and past participle held one's water)

present singular third person holds one's water · participle present holding one's water · participle past held one's water · past held one's water

  1. datedmedicineTo restrain one's urge to urinate.

    […] and if there is much oozing of blood, the application of ice to the penis. The patient is then instructed to hold his water as long as possible.

    1877, Shirley Bragg MD, “Structure of the Male Urethra, with Report of Cases,”, in Atlanta Medical and Surgical Journal, Volume 14, pages 645–6

    Synonyms: hold it

  2. idiomaticTo be patient; to control one's impulses.

    Hold your water, I'll get to you in a minute.

    1 more example

    "C'mon, move it! Get your ass in gear!" […] "Hold your water!" Stiehl yelled back. "I'm writing farewell letters."

    2011, Thomas Swan, chapter 1, in The Da Vinci Deception: An Inspector Jack Oxby Novel, →ISBN

    Synonyms: abide, back that train up, bide, bide one's time, expect, defer, hang on, hold on

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo restrain one's urge to urinate.

Similar
hold it

verbTo be patient; to control one's impulses.

Similar
abideback that train upbidebide one's timeexpectdeferhang onhold onhold one's breathhold one's horseshold outmark timestand bystaytwiddle one's thumbswait
Also see
abidehold onhold one's horseshold one's peehold one's pissstand bywait
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“hold one's water.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20one's%20water. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

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

Source: hold one's water on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.