The word 'holds' is spelled with six letters, starting with the letter 'h', followed by 'o', 'l', 'd', and ending with 's'. The 'hold' part is pronounced with the same vowel sound as 'cold' and 'bold'. The final 's', representing the third-person singular present tense, is pronounced as a soft 'z' sound. In phonetic transcription, 'holds' is written as /hoʊldz/. This word can have various meanings, such as to maintain, possess, or grasp something.
Holds, as a verb, can be defined as the act of physically grasping, gripping, or carrying something. It entails maintaining a secure or firm grip or grasp on an object or individual. Holds can also refer to having control or possession of something, preventing it from being lost or taken away.
In a figurative sense, holds can denote the act of keeping someone or something in a particular position, state, or condition. It implies maintaining influence, authority, or power over someone or something. Holds can also refer to having beliefs, opinions, or attitudes about a specific matter.
In the context of a competition or contest, holds can describe the act of maintaining or retaining a particular position or status. For instance, an athlete who wins a championship "holds" the title until someone else defeats them.
The term holds is also commonly used to describe the capacity or capability of an object to contain or store something. This notion can be observed in expressions like a water tank that "holds" a certain amount of water or a drawer that "holds" various items.
Furthermore, holds can refer to reservations made for future use, such as booking a seat on a plane or reserving a hotel room. This definition of holds highlights the act of securing or reserving something for later use or availability.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "holds" has multiple etymological origins, depending on its context and usage. Below are two possible origins:
1. The verb "holds" meaning to grasp or grip, derives from Old English "haldan" or "healdan". This word can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic word "haldanan", meaning "to hold" or "to contain". It shares a common ancestor with other Germanic languages, such as Old High German "haltan" and Old Norse "halda".
2. The noun "holds" referring to a strong grip or grasp comes from Middle English "hold", deriving from Old English "heald" or "hald" which meant "grasping, handle, custody". This word can also be traced back to the Proto-Germanic root "haldaz" or "haldan", meaning "to grasp or hold".