WITHHOLD

withhold, keep back

(verb) hold back; refuse to hand over or share; “The father is withholding the allowance until the son cleans his room”

withhold, deduct, recoup

(verb) retain and refrain from disbursing; of payments; “My employer is withholding taxes”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

withhold (third-person singular simple present withholds, present participle withholding, simple past withheld, past participle (rare) withholden or withheld)

(transitive) To keep (a physical object that one has obtained) to oneself rather than giving it back to its owner.

(transitive) To keep (information, assent etc) to oneself rather than revealing it.

(intransitive) To stay back.

Synonyms

• (keep (a physical object) to oneself): retain

Source: Wiktionary


With*hold", v. t. [imp. Withheld; p. p. Withheld, Obs. or Archaic Withholden (; p. pr. & vb. n. Withholding.] Etym: [With again, against, back + hold.]

1. To hold back; to restrain; to keep from action. Withhold, O sovereign prince, your hasty hand From knitting league with him. Spenser.

2. To retain; to keep back; not to grant; as, to withhold assent to a proposition. Forbid who will, none shall from me withhold Longer thy offered good. Milton.

3. To keep; to maintain; to retain. [Obs.] To withhold it the more easily in heart. Chaucer.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

10 June 2025

COMMUNICATIONS

(noun) the discipline that studies the principles of transmiting information and the methods by which it is delivered (as print or radio or television etc.); “communications is his major field of study”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

There are four varieties of commercially viable coffee: Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa, and Robusta. Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.

coffee icon