What is the difference between Hold Up and Hold On?

Foremost, “hold up” is a verb phrase or idiomatic expression that is seldom used in the English language. “Hold up” can represent different meanings depending on their usage in sentences. The basic meaning that this phrase depicts when used as an idiomatic expression in a sentence is “to delay” or “to wait.”

In its basic verb form, it can mean “to lift” or “to support.” For example, hold up that chair while I fix this under it. It can also mean “to withstand,” “to fulfill,” “to detain.” In contrast, “hold on” is also a verb or idiomatic expression that is more popularly used than “hold up.”

Basically, “hold on” can mean “to wait for a short while,” “to keep,” “to grip or grasp firmly,” to store,” or “to be persistent.” Example for this expression is: hold on to a bit while I get you the drink. Another one says “hold on to the ball to prevent it from falling.”

A person may think that hold on and hold up and hold on are the same thing because many people use them synonymously with each other. One of the reasons for this is because both include the word Hold. However, there are is a difference between what they mean. Hold up is to lift something up.

An example of using the statement hold up is to say, "Everyone holds up their hands if they want to start a business." Hold on is to wait for a period of time. For example, "Maam, please hold on while I get a supervisor on the line."

It can be confusing for some people to know the difference between hold up and hold down especially since they seem to be similar to each other. When you say “hold up,” this means that you would like to support something. This can be for something that is physical although it can also be for something that is metaphorical.

There are also some items that will be able to hold up by themselves. When you say hold up, this means that you would also like to delay something. When you say “hold down,” this means that you are setting up some limits. This may also be a sign that you are showing off how much you can be responsible for. When you say “hold on,” this means that you would be grasping onto something for a certain period of time.

If you don't have any prior knowledge about the actual meaning of the two words, you might assume both are synonymous just because of both start with the same word, i.e., "Hold." However, there are little differences between the two. One of the several meanings of the hold up is to lift or support something probably with one's hands or anything.

For example: hold up the instrument so that everybody can see it. Also, it means to fulfill one's part of an agreement.

For example I believe John is holding up his side of the bargain. It also means to survive or to withstand. On the other hand, hold on means to grasp something in a firmly manner.

For example: Hold on to the chair so you won't fall. It also means to wait for a short while. For example: hold on for some minutes, I have got something important to do here.