Hold One's Own (Verb)
Meaning 1
Be sufficiently competent in a certain situation; "He can hold his own in graduate school".
Classification
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations.
Examples
- She can hold her own in any debate, and her points are often well-received by the audience.
- As a non-native speaker, he can surprisingly hold his own in conversations with native speakers.
- The young tennis player struggled initially, but she quickly learned to hold her own against more experienced opponents.
- He had doubts about joining the competitive workforce, but after some training, he felt confident to hold his own in any job.
- The new employee can already hold her own in meetings, often contributing insightful ideas and suggestions.
Meaning 2
Maintain one's position and be in control of a situation.
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
Examples
- In the heated debate, the young candidate struggled to hold her own against the experienced politician.
- The new employee quickly learned to hold his own in the fast-paced and demanding work environment.
- As the head coach, she had to hold her own against the opposing team's relentless defense strategy.
- Despite being new to the sport, the athlete managed to hold her own in the competitive tournament.
- The entrepreneur successfully held her own in the challenging negotiations with investors to secure funding.