Fail
Fail verb - To stop functioning.
Hold up
Hold up verb - To continue to operate or to meet one's needs.
Usage example: the air conditioner held up this year, but it's not going to make it through another summer
Both terms in one sentence
- And of course, the glue they used to hold up the thing holding the photo started to fail.
Source: Camera Spoofing - Trying to get too-fine-print past someone will therefore likely fail, or at least not hold up in court.
Source: Artistic License Law
Cite this Source
Hold up and Fail. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/hold_up
Fail & Hold up. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/hold_up>.
Hold up or Fail. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/hold_up.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "fail" and "hold up" have occurred on timeline