AAAmerican Accent US

hold on

No object

This verb takes no object at all.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: hold ON. Saying “HOLD on” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Link across the gap. The final /d/ of “hold” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “hold on” is said “hol-don”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.

2 meanings

  1. 1

    To wait a moment.

    • “Hold on, I'll be right there to help you.”
    • “Hold on — say that again?”

    Similar: wait, hang on

  2. 2

    To keep gripping something.

    • “Hold on tight — the road gets bumpy.”

    Similar: grip, cling

Don’t confuse it with

hold upTo delay someone or something.

Hold ON asks someone to wait. Hold UP means something is delaying you — “I was held up in traffic”.

The particle logic

on

Something starts running, keeps running, or sits on a surface.

Listen + practice

Hear “hold on” spoken naturally

Pick a sentence to record

Read the sentence aloud. Keep the stress on the particle and run the two words together — we’ll score every sound and flag what to work on.

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More HOLD phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

hold up

To delay someone or something.

hold back

To restrain someone or something.

hold off

To delay doing something.

hold out

To resist or survive longer than expected.

hold down

To keep a job over a period of time.

hold onto

To keep possession of something.

hold on — meaning, examples & how to say it