Commonly confused
Hold up vs Hold down
“Hold up” and “Hold down” look alike but pull in different directions. Here is the quick way to tell them apart — with examples, the mistake to avoid, and a check.
Which one do you mean?
Hold up means raise and keep raised. Hold down means keep someone or something restrained.
Hold up
Raise and keep raised
Hold down
Keep someone or something restrained
hold up
- 1
Raise and keep raised
- 2
Delay a person or process
Correct use
“Hold up the sign so everyone can see it.”
Raise the sign high and keep it raised so that everyone can see it.
hold down
- 1
Keep someone or something restrained
Correct use
“Two staff members held the man down until help arrived.”
Two staff members kept the man on the ground until help arrived.
Test yourself
“Hold up the sign so everyone can see it.” What does it mean?
Sink In — iOS & Android
Stop mixing them up
Sink In turns confusable pairs like this into quick contrast drills, so the right particle becomes automatic instead of a guess.
- Learn the pattern behind dozens of verbs at once — not one-off translations.
- Spaced repetition (SM-2) brings each meaning back right before you forget.
- Four practice modes train recall and discrimination, not just recognition.
