hold off — delay acting (especially making a decision or starting something)
to deliberately wait before doing something, especially to delay making a decision or taking action, often because you are waiting for a better moment or more information.
Say it like a native
Textbook We have decided to postpone making a decision for now.
Native Let's hold off on deciding for now.
'Hold off (on)' is the natural way to say wait before acting. 'Postpone making a decision' is wordy.
Pattern: hold off (on) [noun/gerund]
In use
- We decided to hold off on buying a new car until next year.daily life
- In my opinion, it's sometimes wise to hold off making a big decision until you've considered all your options.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Let's hold off to buy until the sale.
✓ Let's hold off on buying until the sale.
'Hold off ON + -ing', not 'hold off to + verb'.
Common collocations
hold off on + -ing— on buying, on a decision, for now, until later
Don't confuse it
Unlike the basic sense of 'hold off' meaning to physically keep something away (e.g., 'hold off the attackers'), this sense is about delaying your own action or decision, not stopping someone or something else.