Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hold one's horses

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.08 in modern English

Syllables: hold one's hors-es
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To be patient; to wait.

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hold, one's, horses.

Example Sentences

""I'm going to tell you, ain't I?" he said, gruffly. "Just hold your horses a minute, please.""
""I would ask everybody to hold their horses until we go through the process," ElBaradei said."

Etymology

A play on different senses of the word stable in the sense of a place where horses are held, and also in the sense of being steady and unerratic.

Inflected Forms

holds one's horses (present, singular) holding one's horses (participle, present) held one's horses (participle, past) held one's horses (past)

Phrases

back that train up

Frequently Paired Words

back that train up

Synonyms

hold one's water abide back that train up bide bide one's time expect defer hang on hold on hold one's breath hold one's horses hold out

Questions

What does hold one's horses mean?: To be patient; to wait.
Where does hold one's horses come from?: A play on different senses of the word stable in the sense of a place where horses are held, and also in the sense of being steady and unerratic.

How to pronounce hold one's horses

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