Hold and Release

Hold

Hold noun - The act or manner of holding.
Usage example: make sure you have a firm hold on the chain saw before you turn it on

Release is an antonym for hold in topics: detain, restrain, believe, support, function.

Nearby Words: holding, holder, holdback

Release

Release verb - To set free (from a state of being held in check).
Usage example: the losing player released his anger with a great yell of frustration

Hold is an antonym for release in topics: set free, delivery, publication, let go.

Nearby Words: released, releasing

How words are described

old old hold old release
full full hold full release
complete complete hold complete release
original original hold original release
Other adjectives: legitimate, proper, single, exclusive, actual, massive, main, final, last.

Common collocations

power hold power release power
people hold people release people
note hold note release note
amount hold amount release amount
Other words: number, time, key, ball, button, titles.

Both words in one sentence

  • Video Game / Saints Row: The Third Also unlike 2, you only need to tap the button/key in order to take a human shield, whereas in the previous game you had to hold and release the button, and tapping the button would instead grab and throw the human shield.
  • Artistic License – Gun Safety When wielding a bow in Skyrim, you hold the trigger down to nock an arrow and draw the bowstring, then release it to fire.
  • However, after the disappointment of Princess Mononoke's theatrical release, Disney once again decided to rethink how to release Castle in the Sky, and put it on hold again.
Cite this Source
Release and Hold. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold/release
Hold & Release. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold/release>.
Release or Hold. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold/release.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "hold" and "release" have occurred on timeline