hold down
Third Person
holds down
Present Participle
holding down
Past Tense
held down
Past Participle
held down
1
to restrict the freedom, rights, or aspirations of individuals or groups, often through oppressive or authoritarian measures
- The population yearns for change, as they have been held down by tyranny for too long.
- In some nations, dissenting voices are forcefully held down by those in power.
- The citizens are held down by a regime that suppresses their basic rights.
- The repressive policies of the regime continue to hold the people down.
- Human rights activists work tirelessly to free those held down by oppressive governments.
2
to maintain a job, especially for a certain period of time
- She struggled to hold down a steady job due to her frequent moves.
- Holding down a job can be challenging for individuals with irregular schedules.
- Some people find it difficult to hold down employment in a fluctuating economy.
- He was proud of his ability to hold the same job down for over a decade.
- The company values employees who can hold down positions through adversity.
3
to use force to prevent someone from moving
- The wrestler struggled to hold down his opponent in the match.
- It required several officers to hold down the aggressive suspect.
- The medical team had to hold down the patient during the procedure.
- To complete the medical test, they had to hold the patient down.
- Parents often need to hold down squirming children for medical check-ups.
4
to maintain something at a low or controlled level
- The central bank's policies aim to hold down interest rates.
- Cost-cutting measures are necessary to hold down production expenses.
- We need to hold down energy consumption to reduce our environmental impact.
- The team worked hard to hold the project's overall budget down.
- Government subsidies help hold down the prices of essential goods.
5
to control something, particularly noise or volume, to a more acceptable level
- Could you please hold down the music?It's too loud.
- They asked the construction crew to hold down the noise during the event.
- I need to hold down the TV volume to avoid disturbing the neighbors.
- The library has strict rules to hold down conversations and maintain silence.
- To avoid disturbing the baby, we tried to hold our laughter down.