Holdout

Definitions

1. One who refuses to give consent to an agreement in the hope of an improved offer; one who holds out; one who clings to a cause that has been mostly abandoned.
2. A device for cheating at card games by covertly holding a card out of play until it is wanted.

Equivalents

Examples

“If Facebook chooses to remain⟳ a holdout, it will not be as the head of a countercoalition but as a cranky recluse.”

“One of Otto’s first moves after Viserys’ death is to make⟳ the lords and ladies of the Red Keep⟳ bend⟳ the knee to Aegon. The two holdouts are swiftly carted away by the guards, while the third, Rhaenyra’s faithful Lord Caswell (Paul Hickey), reluctantly kneels.”

“He is probably working a vest or sleeve hold-out. Some clumsy or audacious sharpers will go so far as to hold⟳ out cards in their lap, or stick⟳ them in a "bug" under the table.”

CEFR level