hold up to
B2 neutral separable transitive
In simple words
Check something carefully to see if it is good enough, or survive being checked
Literal meaning: To physically lift something up toward something else for inspection
Meanings
1 B2
idiomatic
neutral
To subject something to critical examination or comparison in order to test its quality or validity
"Let's hold this proposal up to the standards we agreed on last month."
Grammar: separable
2 B2
idiomatic
neutral
To remain valid, convincing, or intact when subjected to scrutiny or testing
"The witness's alibi simply didn't hold up to close questioning."
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
Commonly appears in academic, journalistic, and legal contexts. Often followed by 'scrutiny', 'examination', or 'comparison'. The structure 'does it hold up to scrutiny?' is especially frequent.
Commonly used with
scrutiny examination comparison the light analysis questioning
Forms
Base
hold up to
I/you/we/they
3rd person
holds up to
he/she/it
Past simple
held up to
yesterday
Past participle
held up to
have + pp
-ing form
holding up to
continuous
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Synonyms
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