hold-up
/ˈhoʊldˌʌp/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.16 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The holding back of a card that could win a trick in order to use it later.
noun
Women's stockings designed to be worn without suspenders.
noun
The inventory of nuclear material within a separation plant.
noun
A traffic jam.
Example Sentences
- "What is the hold-up?"
- "The crossing caused serious congestion with long traffic hold-ups, and had been a bone of contention between the local authorities and the railway for over eighty years. It was controlled from Fletton Road Junction Signalbox (removed at the same time) and, until a wheel was installed in 1920, required two gatemen on each turn of duty."
- "The curse has been Spanish ineptitude feeding Gibraltarian intransigence. Border hold-ups are counterproductive to winning hearts and minds, as were blundering Argentinian landings on the outer Falklands."
- "This is a hold-up! Give us all your money."
- "They didn't get shot to death in hold-ups, strangled to death in rapes, stabbed to death in saloons, bludgeoned to death with axes by parents or children or die summarily by some other act of God."
- "This was another hand on which a holdup caused declarer to lose control and to go down in a sensational way: […]"
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhoʊldˌʌp/