hold onto

verb

To manage to keep something.

“Desperate to hold onto power, Pervez Musharraf has discarded Pakistan's constitutional framework and declared a state of emergency.”

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Meanings

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

present singular third person holds onto · participle present holding onto · participle past held onto · past held onto

  1. idiomaticTo manage to keep something.

    Desperate to hold onto power, Pervez Musharraf has discarded Pakistan's constitutional framework and declared a state of emergency.

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hold, onto.
Cite this entry
APA

hold onto. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20onto

MLA

“hold onto.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20onto. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hold onto,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20onto.

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