Word Confusion: Hold versus Holed

Posted May 3, 2022 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
26 Nov 2022

I’m hoping that “she was hold up in the cave” was simply a typo, a misspelling at worst, since it would be better — not for her obviously — if “she was holed up in the cave”.

Of course, hold is also a noun, so she could be “holed up in the hold”.

‘Cause you know, hold up is a robbery . . .

Hold can be a space, a grip, a place to grip(!), possess, stay, restrain.

Holed is strictly the past tense verb or past participle verb of hole and is strictly about hitting a ball into a hole or making a hole.

You may also want to explore “Hole versus Whole“, “Holey vs Holly vs Holy vs Wholly“, and/or “Holed versus Hulled“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

If you found this post on “Hold versus Holed” interesting, consider tweeting it to your friends. Subscribe to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

Return to top

Hold	Holed
Hold My Hand by Elizabeth Ann Colette is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.	Holed Cheese is under the CC0 1.0 license, via Free*SVG.
Part of Grammar:
Noun ¹, ²; Verb ¹, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: holds Gerund: holding Third person present verb: holds Past tense or past participle: held Present participle: holding	Morpheme: hole Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: holes Past tense or past participle: holed Present participle: holing This post ignores hole as a noun.
Noun: An act or manner of grasping something ¹ A grip A particular way of grasping or restraining someone, especially an opponent in wrestling or judo A place where one can grip with one’s hands or feet while climbing [In noun, singular] Power or control [Archaic] A fortress A large space in the lower part of a ship or aircraft in which cargo is stowed ² Verb, intransitive: Grasp, carry, or support with one’s hands ¹ [Archaic; with adverbial of direction] Keep going in a particular direction Remain secure, intact, or in position without breaking or giving way [Of a favorable condition or situation] Continue without changing Be or remain valid or available [Of an argument or theory] Be logical, consistent, or convincing Have in one’s possession [North American; Informal] Be in possession of illegal drugs Keep or reserve for someone Maintain (a phone connection) until the person one has called is free to speak Stay or cause to stay at a certain value or level Prevent from going ahead or occurring [Archaic] Restrain oneself Verb, transitive: Grasp, carry, or support with one’s hands ¹ Keep or sustain in a specified position Embrace (someone) Be able to bear (the weight of a person or thing) [Of a vehicle] Maintain close contact with (the road), especially when driven at speed [Of a ship or an aircraft] Continue to follow (a particular course) Keep or detain (someone) Keep possession of (something), typically in the face of a challenge or attack Keep (someone’s interest or attention) [Of a singer or musician] Sustain (a note) Stay or cause to stay at a certain value or level Contain or be capable of containing (a specified amount) Be able to drink (a reasonable amount of alcohol) without becoming drunk or suffering any ill effects Have or be characterized by Have in one’s possession Have or occupy (a job or position) Have or adhere to (a belief or opinion) [With complement] Regard (someone or something) in a specified way [With clause; of a judge or court] Rule Decide Keep or reserve for someone Maintain (a phone connection) until the person one has called is free to speak Prevent from going ahead or occurring [North American; informal] Refrain from adding or using (something, typically an item of food or drink) [Informal; hold it] Used as a way of exhorting someone to wait or to stop doing something Arrange and take part in (a meeting or conversation)	Verb, intransitive: [Golf] Hit (the ball) so that it falls into a hole To make a hole or holes Verb, transitive: [Golf] Hit (the ball) so that it falls into a hole Make a hole or holes in
Examples:
Noun: He caught hold of her arm. He lost his hold and fell. “Scarf hold is a pinning hold that is performed from side control by turning slightly sideways, spreading the legs for stability, and encircling the opponent’s head with one arm and holding the other arm close to the chest” (Side). He felt carefully with his feet for a hold and swung himself up. He discovered that Tom had some kind of hold over his father. Military forces tightened their hold on the capital. We’ll be safe if we can reach Trangar’s Hold. Oversized baggage is placed in the hold of the plane. Verb, intransitive: The anchor held in the rough sea. He held on his way, close behind his friend. The boat’s anchor would not hold. Let’s hope her luck holds. I’ll have that coffee now, if the offer still holds. This basic argument holds for almost any economic model of competition. He was holding, and the police hauled him off to jail. A reservation can be held for twenty-four hours. The savings rate held at 5%. Will you hold? “Hold, hold!” he cried. Verb, transitive: She was holding a brown leather suitcase. I held the door open for him. Mark pulled her into his arms and held her close. I reached up to the nearest branch that seemed likely to hold my weight. The car holds the corners very well. The ship is holding a southeasterly course. The police were holding him on a murder charge. She was held prisoner for two days. The rebels held the town for many weeks. She could hold anyone’s attention. It was amazing how long she could hold a note. He is determined to hold down inflation. The tank held twenty-four gallons. I can hold my liquor as well as anyone. I don’t know what the future holds. The managing director still holds fifty shares in the company. She held office from 1985 to 90. I feel nothing but pity for someone who holds such chauvinistic views. They hold that all literature is empty of meaning. You can’t hold yourself responsible for what happened. The speed limit is held in contempt by many drivers. A concerto is generally held to be a piece for one or more soloists and orchestra. The Court of Appeals held that there was no evidence to support the judge’s assessment. A reservation can be held for twenty-four hours. Please hold, and I’ll see if he’s available. Hold your fire! I’d like a strawberry margarita, but hold the tequila. Hold it right there, pal! A meeting was held at the church.	Verb, intransitive: He holed in one at the third. They hit alternate shots from each partner until the ball was holed. I feel like I got my head holed. Verb, transitive: A fuel tank was holed by the attack and a fire started. Two days later it was holed and drifting landwards with oil gushing out of its tanks. Casualties were light but they lost one of their ships when it hit a rock and was holed.
Derivatives:
Adjective: holdable	Adjective: holeless, holey Noun: holing
Phrasal Verb
hold against hold back hold back someone hold back something hold down hold down something hold forth hold in hold in something hold off hold off someone hold off something hold on hold on a minute hold onto someone hold onto something hold out hold out for hold out for something hold out on hold out on someone hold out something hold over hold over something hold someone back hold someone down hold someone off hold someone up hold something against someone hold something back hold something in hold something out hold something over hold something together hold something up hold someone to something hold to hold to something hold together hold together something hold up hold up someone hold up something	be holed hole oneself up hole out hole up holed up
History of the Word:
Old English haldan, healdan, is of Germanic origin; related to the Dutch houden and the German halten; the noun is partly from the Old Norse hald ‘meaning hold, support, custody. Late 16th century, from the obsolete holl, from the Old English hol. The addition of -d was due to the association with hold.	Old English hol (noun), holian (verb) is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch hol (noun) meaning cave or (adjective) hollow, and the German hohl meaning hollow, from an Indo-European root meaning cover, conceal.

Return to top

C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

Return to top