1 A2 neutral
To physically keep someone or something in place by pressing down on it.
"It took three officers to hold the suspect down."
separable
hold down
B1 neutral separable transitive
To physically keep something in place, to maintain a job, or to prevent something from rising.
In plain English
To keep something from moving up, to keep a job successfully, or to stop prices or noise from going up.
What does "hold down" mean?
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B1 idiomatic informal
To manage to keep a job, especially when it requires effort or is difficult to maintain.
"He's never been able to hold down a steady job for more than three months."
separable
3 B2 idiomatic neutral
To prevent prices, costs, noise, or another quantity from rising.
"The government introduced subsidies to hold down food prices during the crisis."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To press or keep something from rising — the physical sense is fully transparent.
Actually means
To keep something from moving up, to keep a job successfully, or to stop prices or noise from going up.
Usage tip
The 'keep a job' sense is very common in informal speech: 'Can he hold down a job?' The physical sense is transparent. The 'suppress' sense (hold down prices, costs, inflation) is common in business and economic writing.
Words that pair with "hold down"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
job position prices costs fort noise food
How to conjugate "hold down"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
hold down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
holds down
he/she/it
Past simple
held down
yesterday
Past participle
held down
have + pp
-ing form
holding down
continuous
Hear "hold down" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "hold down" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.