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withhold

American  
[with-hohld, with-] / wɪθˈhoʊld, wɪð- /

verb (used with object)

withheld, withholding

  1. to hold back; restrain or check.

    Synonyms:
    repress, suppress
    Antonyms:
    advance

  2. to refrain from giving or granting.

    to withhold payment.
    Synonyms:
    repress, suppress
    Antonyms:
    advance

  3. to collect (taxes) at the source of income.

  4. to deduct (withholding tax) from an employee's salary or wages.

verb (used without object)

withheld, withholding

  1. to hold back; refrain.

  2. to deduct withholding tax.

withhold British  
/ wɪðˈhəʊld /

verb

  1. (tr) to keep back; refrain from giving

    he withheld his permission

  2. (tr) to hold back; restrain

  3. (tr) to deduct (taxes, etc) from a salary or wages

  4. to refrain or forbear

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See keep.

Other Word Forms

  • unwithheld adjective
  • withholder noun

Etymology

Origin of withhold

First recorded in 1150–1200, withhold is from the Middle English word withholden. See with-, hold 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.