hold back — withhold information
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutralcommon
to deliberately not share something, such as information, feelings, or opinions
Say it like a native
Textbook He deliberately withheld crucial information from us.
Native He was holding something back.
'Hold back' naturally means keep something to yourself. 'Withheld crucial information' is formal/legal.
Pattern: hold back (something) | hold back on (something)
In use
- He didn't want to hold back any details from his team.work
- I believe it's important not to hold back your ideas in a group discussion, as sharing different opinions can lead to better results.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Don't hold back nothing.
✓ Don't hold anything back. / Don't hold back.
Avoid the double negative — 'don't hold anything back'.
Common collocations
hold back + info— the truth, details, information, something
Don't confuse it
Different from 'hold off', which means to delay doing something.
Related
- hold back (restrain emotion) — Another meaning of 'hold back' is 'restrain emotion'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.