/wɪˈθhoʊld/
withhold is pronounced /wɪˈθhoʊld/. Withhold means to hold back something, such as information or payment, from being given or released. It involves deliberately keeping possession or deliberately not providing what is due. The term combines a verb meaning to retain with a sense of withholding or suppressing an item or information.
Say it backWithhold means to hold back something, such as information or payment, from being given or released. It involves deliberately keeping possession or deliberately not providing what is due. The term combines a verb meaning to retain with a sense of withholding or suppressing an item or information.
"The company decided to withhold the employee’s final paycheck until the payroll dispute was resolved."
"She chose to withhold her judgment until she had all the facts."
"The government may withhold details from the public for security reasons."
Pronounce as wɪðˈhoʊld (US) or wɪðˈhəʊld (UK/AU). Start with /w/ then /ɪ/ (reduced, as in win), then /ð/ (voiced dental fricative, like 'this'), followed by the primary stress on /hoʊld/ or /həʊld/. The final syllable is a clear /ld/ cluster. Keep the /ð/ steady and avoid inserting an extra vowel before the /h/. Listen for the two-syllable rhythm: you’ll hear a light onset in ʍ- combination and strong hold on the second syllable. Audio reference: consult Pronounce or Cambridge audio for practical listening.
Two frequent errors are: (1) treating /ð/ as /d/ or /t/, making it 'wiƒhold' or 'wit-hold'; correct is /ð/ as a voiced dental fricative between teeth. (2) Dropping or weakening the /ð/ or incorrectly reducing the first syllable to /wɪ/ with no dental fricative, producing something like /wɪhoʊld/ without the /ð/. Correction: place the tongue gently between the upper and lower teeth for /ð/ and produce a clear, voiced fricative before the /hoʊld/ part. Maintain two distinct syllables and stress on the second.
In US English, you’ll hear /wɪðˈhoʊld/ with a clear /hoʊld/ and a relatively quick, crisp /ð/. UK English uses /wɪðˈhəʊld/, with a slightly more centralized or reduced first vowel in the second syllable and a longer /əʊ/ diphthong. Australian accents align with UK patterns but often feature a broader /oː/ quality and less rhoticity influence, maintaining /ˈhoʊld/ or /ˈhəʊld/. Practicing both helps you maintain correct dental fricative placement and syllable timing across accents.
The challenge lies in the cluster /ðh/ sequence and strong vowel transition in the second syllable. The dental fricative /ð/ requires precise tongue placement between the teeth, and the following /h/ can create a breathy cue if not coordinated. Additionally, the /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ diphthong in the second syllable demands controlled lip rounding and jaw shaping to avoid blending into /oʊld/ or /hould/. Slow it down to practice the boundary between /ð/ and /h/ clearly.
A key nuance is the explicit two-syllable rhythm with primary stress on the second syllable: withhold. You should hear a distinct /ð/ entry before /hoʊld/, not a slurred +/ðh/. Some speakers may voice the /ð/ more softly in connected speech; keep it audible to preserve the dental fricative’s identity. Focus on maintaining the /ð/ and the following diphthong as independent units, ensuring the /ld/ ending remains crisp.
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Withhold traces to Old English underweldan, a compound of under- (near, beneath, or underneath) and weldan (to withhold or guard). The modern form fused into withhold by the influence of the verb hold, which has Germanic roots (Old English healdan, related to Dutch houden and German halten). The sense evolved from literally holding back or guarding something to the abstract notion of refusing to supply or disclose something. In Middle English, variants such as withholden appeared in literature and legal language, often describing retention of possessions, taxes, or information. By the 16th–17th centuries, the word was established in its current sense of intentionally retaining or denying release. The phrase to withhold payment or information became common in law, governance, and everyday speech, reflecting the tension between retention and disclosure that the word embodies. Today, withhold remains a precise, formal term used across contexts like finance, governance, and ethics, retaining both its physical and figurative implications of keeping back something that might otherwise be given or shared.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "withhold" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "withhold"
-old sounds
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