holds

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of hold.

   The contract holds both parties to strict deadlines.

   She holds a senior position in the marketing department.

   Note

   Nearly every use takes a direct object, and the object decides which hold is meant. She holds the rope is a grip. The tank holds water is containing. The clerk holds a seat for you is reserving. The guard holds the suspect is detaining. When a reader is unsure which meaning applies, the thing being held usually settles it.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of hold.

   The vessel's holds were packed with crates bound for the islands.

   Wrestlers practice various holds to pin their opponents.

   Note

   One spelling covers several countable things. A wrestler's holds are grips. Holds placed on a shipment are orders to reserve or delay it. Holds for animals are places where they are kept safe. The same spelling is also the present-tense verb (she holds), and a determiner sorts them out: the holds, two holds, the account's holds can only be the noun.

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