hold
hohld
/hoʊld/
To temporarily suspend a phone conversation without breaking the connection.
Implies keeping a line open while pausing audio transmission.
The story behind the word. Originally meaning to guard or keep in custody. In early manual telephone switchboards, operators physically placed a caller's cord circuit into a retaining hold jack to keep the line energized while finding the recipient.
Word relationships
- pause: Pause refers to stopping media playback, while hold specifically means maintaining a suspended phone connection.
- wait: Wait is general, whereas hold is the technical telecommunication state of line suspension.
- resume: Resume returns to active talking from a held state.
- disconnect: Disconnect breaks connection completely, unlike hold.
Commonly confused with
- transfer: Hold keeps the call paused with you; transfer routes the caller to someone else.
Word family
- on-hold (adjective): Temporarily paused or suspended.
Collocations
- put on hold
- hold the line
- hold music
- place on hold
Idioms & expressions
- hold on (wait briefly)
- hold the phone (wait or express surprise)
Example sentences
- "Could you please hold while I transfer you to our technical support team?" Customer support line
Memory hook
HOLD the line in your hand while you check the facts. Keep the connection on pause.
When not to use
Do not use to mean hanging up permanently.
Fun facts
- Alfred Levy patented 'hold music' in 1966 after discovering a loose wire was picking up a nearby radio station audio signal.
Related words
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