hold

/hoʊld/ v [I/T] (past tense and past participle held /held/) (TAKE FIRMLY)

Definition

› to take and keep something in your hand or arms: [T] The nurse held the child in her arms. [I] Hold tight (= firmly) to the railing. › If you hold your nose, you press your nose tightly between thumb and finger to close it. hold hands › When two people hold hands, each one takes the other person’s hand in his or her hand, esp. to show affection.

(Definition of hold v (TAKE FIRMLY) from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)