Can
Can verb - To let go from office, service, or employment.
Hold back
Hold back verb - To create difficulty for the work or activity of.
Both terms in one sentence
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While Toki's regaining her breath, he explains that he had to hold back for their spars to have any meaning and all her victory meant was that he can now hold back less.
Source: Don't You Dare Pity Me! -
Similarly, Cleveland in The Cleveland Show is very overweight but can still run around as if his weight doesn't hold back while under pressure.
Source: Acrofatic -
This Is Gonna Suck: Norbit when he gets home from his date with Kate and Jack can't even hold back a laugh when he tells him, "I'd hate to be you now".
Source: Film / Norbit
Cite this Source
Hold back and Can. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 07, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/can/hold_back
Can & Hold back. N.p., 2016. Web. 07 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/can/hold_back>.
Hold back or Can. 2016. Accessed August 07, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/can/hold_back.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "can" and "hold back" have occurred on timeline