Expressions avec HOLD en anglais : phrasal verbs, idioms et usages

HOLD est l’un de ces verbes anglais déceptivement simples qui cachent une richesse considérable. À partir du sens de base “tenir”, il se ramifie en dizaines de phrasal verbs et d’expressions idiomatiques qui décrivent des situations physiques, émotionnelles et professionnelles du quotidien. Ce guide couvre les phrasal verbs essentiels, les idioms incontournables et les différences avec keep et maintain.

HOLD : les sens de base

Avant de s’attaquer aux phrasal verbs, les sens fondamentaux de hold permettent de comprendre la logique de toutes les extensions.

HOLD = tenir physiquement

• She held the baby carefully.
• Hold my bag for a moment, please.
• He was holding a bunch of flowers.

HOLD = contenir, avoir une capacité

• The stadium holds 80,000 people.
• This bottle holds one litre.
• The hard drive holds 2 terabytes.

HOLD = organiser un événement

• The company held its annual conference in Berlin.
• Elections will be held in November.
• The meeting is being held in the main boardroom.

HOLD = maintenir une position, une valeur

• The shares held their value despite the crisis.
• She held her position under intense pressure.
• The record has held for 20 years.

HOLD = retenir, différer

• Hold all my calls this afternoon.
• The package is being held at the post office.
• Can you hold that thought for a moment?

Phrasal verbs avec HOLD : les 8 essentiels

HOLD ON : attendre, s’accrocher

• Hold on a second — I need to check something.
• Hold on tight, the ride is about to start.
• Can you hold on while I transfer your call?

HOLD UP : retarder, braquer, résister

• The accident on the motorway held us up for two hours.
• The bank was held up by armed robbers.
• The bridge has been holding up well for over a century.
• Hold up — something isn’t right here. (attends, stop)

HOLD BACK : retenir, dissimuler, freiner

• She struggled to hold back her tears.
• Security guards held back the crowd.
• I know you’re holding something back — what is it?
• Don’t let fear hold you back from pursuing your goals.

HOLD OUT : résister, tendre, réclamer

• The team held out against overwhelming opposition for three days.
• She held out her hand to help him up.
• The union is holding out for a better deal.
• How long can we hold out before we run out of supplies?

HOLD OFF : retarder, ne pas agir, repousser

• Hold off sending that email until I’ve reviewed it.
• The rain held off long enough for the ceremony.
• They managed to hold off the competition.
• Can we hold off the decision until next week?

HOLD DOWN : maintenir, garder (un emploi)

• It’s difficult to hold down a job while studying full time.
• He can’t hold down a job — he’s been fired from three companies this year.
• Two officers held the suspect down while a third applied handcuffs.
• Despite the crisis, they held down costs effectively.

HOLD TOGETHER : rester uni, maintenir la cohésion

• It was her leadership that held the team together during the crisis.
• The coalition held together long enough to pass the bill.
• I don’t think this plan holds together logically.
• The old machine is barely holding together.

HOLD OVER : reporter, garder

• The vote was held over to the next meeting.
• The film was held over for an extra two weeks due to demand.
• Several issues were held over from the previous session.

Tableau récapitulatif des phrasal verbs

HOLD dans les expressions idiomatiques

Les idioms avec hold sont très fréquents dans l’anglais quotidien. En voici les plus utiles, classés par thème.

HOLD YOUR HORSES : attends, ralentis

• Hold your horses — we haven’t agreed to anything yet.
• “Let’s sign the deal today.” “Hold your horses, I need to check the figures.”

HOLD THE FORT : assurer la permanence, gérer en l’absence de quelqu’un

• Can you hold the fort while I’m at the conference?
• She held the fort for three months while the manager was on sick leave.
• I need someone to hold the fort this afternoon.

HOLD YOUR TONGUE : se taire, retenir ses mots

• I had to hold my tongue during the meeting — what he said was infuriating.
• It took all my willpower to hold my tongue.
• Sometimes it’s wiser to hold your tongue than to say the wrong thing.

HOLD YOUR GROUND : tenir sa position, ne pas céder

• She held her ground despite enormous pressure to change her position.
• Hold your ground — don’t let them intimidate you.
• He held his ground during the negotiations and got a better deal.

ON HOLD : en attente, suspendu

• The project is on hold until we get more funding.
• I’ve been on hold for 20 minutes with customer service.
• Can you put that decision on hold for now?

TAKE HOLD : prendre racine, commencer à avoir de l’effet

• The new strategy is starting to take hold.
• It took months for the idea to take hold in the organisation.
• Fear began to take hold as the situation worsened.

GET HOLD OF : contacter, obtenir, saisir

• I’ve been trying to get hold of you all day.
• Where did you get hold of that information?
• He got hold of the rope just in time.

HOLD vs KEEP vs MAINTAIN : nuances et préférences

Ces trois verbes se chevauchent souvent dans les traductions françaises (“garder”, “maintenir”, “tenir”). Leurs usages diffèrent pourtant de façon significative.

HOLD : tenir, maintenir dans l’instant, contenir

• Hold the door open. (action dans l’instant)
• The venue holds 300 guests. (capacité)
• Hold on. (attendre)
• The agreement holds. (reste valable)

KEEP : continuer, conserver, ne pas arrêter

• Keep the door open. (sur la durée)
• Keep the change. (garder définitivement)
• Keep working — don’t stop. (continuité)
• Keep a secret. (ne pas révéler)
• Keep fit. (rester en forme, habitude)

MAINTAIN : entretenir, soutenir (sens formel)

• Maintain a car / building / relationship. (entretenir régulièrement)
• Maintain a high standard. (maintenir un niveau formel)
• Maintain that something is true. (soutenir, affirmer)
• The system needs to be maintained regularly.

Guide pratique :

HOLD dans un contexte professionnel

Hold est très fréquent dans les emails, réunions et contextes d’affaires.

En réunions :

• We will be holding a team meeting on Friday at 10am.
• Can we hold off on that until everyone has reviewed the document?
• Let me hold that question for the end.

En négociation et prise de décision :

• I’d like to hold this decision until we have more data.
• The offer holds until the end of the month.
• We’re holding out for a better price from the supplier.

En gestion de projet :

• The deadline holds — no extensions.
• Several action points were held over from the last meeting.
• What’s holding up the approval?

Au téléphone :

• Could you hold for a moment?
• I’ll put you on hold while I transfer your call.
• Thank you for holding.

Expressions avec HOLD : tableau de synthèse final

La clé pour intégrer hold est de le rencontrer en contexte réel. Notez chaque nouvelle expression quand vous la lisez ou l’entendez dans des podcasts, des films ou des textes professionnels, et essayez de la réutiliser activement dans les jours qui suivent. La mémoire par l’usage est plus solide que la mémorisation de listes.