hold up (someone/something)

1. to delay someone or something.

Traffic was held up for several hours by the accident.

Sorry to hold you up, but my train was late.

2. to try to steal from a person or place by using violence.

Two masked men held up the grocery store on my block.

They held her up at gunpoint.

3. to offer someone or something as an example.

Her parents always held her sister up as the kind of person she should be.

• hoist with own petard
• hoist with your own petard
• hold against
• hold against someone
• hold a gun to head
• hold a gun to someone's head
• hold all the aces
• hold all the cards
• hold at arm's length
• hold back
• hold back from
• hold back from doing something
• hold breath
• hold court
• hold down
• hold down something
• hold end up
• hold feet to the fire
• hold fire
• hold forth
• hold good
• hold ground
• hold hand
• hold head high
• hold head up high