hold down
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: hold DOWN. Saying “HOLD down” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Do not release the /d/. Before the consonant of “down” the stop is held and swallowed rather than popped — the same unreleased-stop move as in hot dog. One smooth unit: “hold down”.
2 meanings
- 1
To keep a job over a period of time.
- “He's never held down a job for more than a year.”
Similar: keep, maintain
- 2
To restrain someone physically.
- “It took two nurses to hold him down.”
Similar: pin, restrain