hold back | Idiomator

Meaning: (idiomatic,intransitive)To act withreserve; to contain one's full measure or power.Synonym:pull punchesCoordinate terms:pull back,stand backDon'thold back. Hit it as hard as you can.2023October 4, Mel Holley, “Network News: Conservative MPs criticise ticket office closure plans”, inRAIL, number993, page23:The TSSA union, which along with the RMT represents many of the staff affected by the closures, hasn'theld backon its criticism.; (idiomatic,transitive)Tocontain; stop.Coordinate terms:hold down,hold off,set back;see alsoThesaurus:curbThe dam can'thold backthat much water.2011January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds”, inBBC‎[1]:Fabregascoolly slotted home afterBen Parkerheld backTheo Walcottand only a superKasper Schmeichelsave stoppedDenilsonwinning it for the Gunners.; (idiomatic,transitive)Todelaythe progress of, especially in school.Coordinate term:set backHe's a year older than his classmates, because he washeld backin second grade.

Examples:

EN: The dead won't hold back the spring.
ES: Los muertos no pueden impedir la primavera.
EN: No one can hold back Rome on its path to glory!
ES: ¡Nadie impedirá que Roma vuelva al camino de la gloria!
EN: Despite his decision, Heizaburo can't hold back.
ES: Viendo todo esto, Heizaburo no pudo seguir sin actuar.
EN: "Don't hold back anything because you think it is unimportant or nonsensical!"
ES: No omita ninguna idea por considerarla irrelevante o sin sentido.
EN: we can't hold back the people they want to free Danton what shall we do?
ES: ¡No podremos contener a la masa! Quieren liberar a Danton. ¿Qué hacemos?
EN: Please, sir, know that capital is smart enough, who, in his own interest, does not hold back from stupidity.
ES: Por favor, entérese señor, que el capital es suficientemente inteligente, que, por su propio interés, no se retiene ante una estupidez.
EN: You can't hold back what's really mine.
ES: No puedes retener lo que en realidad es mío.
EN: It would be cowardly of us to hold back. We must act.
ES: Sería cobarde que nosotros nos contuviéramos.
EN: Gallery B-9 struck a subterranean stream which we couldn't hold back
ES: El túnel B-9 golpeó una corriente bajo tierra que no pudimos contener
EN: And don't hold back anything that you find.
ES: Y no oculte nada de lo que descubra.
EN: You know, the lowly fisherman is helpless... to hold back the tidal wave. But his warning cry may save his neighbor's children.
ES: El pescador solitario se halla perdido... frente a una ola gigante, pero podría, si avisa... y grita, salvar la vida de los hijos de su vecino.
EN: But here are the messages from your brothers, begging you to hold back.
ES: Pero aquí están los mensajes de sus hermanos, rogando que se detenga.
EN: And hold back your act. Listen.
ES: He cambiado el programa.
EN: Don't hold back.
ES: Otra más.
EN: Just don't hold back please.
ES: No te entretengas, por favor.

Note: the examples for non latin scripts have a high likelihood of mistakes, we do not own any of this data and it is sourced from Wiktionary, the NLLB database and Opensubtitles. Please help us improve this by contributing correct examples. We will be working to fix this issue over time however it is a bigger issue due to the the difficulties in dealing with non latin scripts and grammatical structures(non-romantic/european languages have lower resources as well ).