See hold water on Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "Possibly from the King James Version of Jeremiah 2:13: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”",
"forms": [
{
"form": "holds water",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "holding water",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "held water",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "held water",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "hold<,,held> water"
},
"expansion": "hold water (third-person singular simple present holds water, present participle holding water, simple past and past participle held water)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
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},
{
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{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
"parents": [
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"Entry maintenance"
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
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},
{
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"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Serbo-Croatian terms with redundant script codes",
"parents": [
"Terms with redundant script codes",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Danish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with French translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Italian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Polish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Russian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2017 August 13, Brandon Nowalk, “Oldtown offers one last game-changing secret as Game Of Thrones goes behind enemy lines (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club:",
"text": "At the parlay, Tyrion also tries to claim Tywin’s murder was self-defense, which holds some water, and despite Jaime’s anger, I suspect he can see it from that side.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1888, Horatio Alger, chapter 35, in The Errand Boy:",
"text": "\"Young man,\" he said, \"upon this point I can only say that your story is grossly improbable. It won't hold water.\"",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To withstand scrutiny or criticism; to be valid."
],
"id": "en-hold_water-en-verb-lraO8H2h",
"links": [
[
"scrutiny",
"scrutiny"
],
[
"criticism",
"criticism"
],
[
"valid",
"valid"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To withstand scrutiny or criticism; to be valid."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "hold up"
},
{
"word": "hold one's water"
},
{
"word": "watertight"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "zhàndezhù",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "站得住"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "zhàndezhù jiǎo",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "站得住腳 /站得住脚"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "chénglì",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "成立"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "holde vand"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "hout snijden"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "steek houden"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "pitää vettä"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "kestää tarkastelua"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "olla vedenpitävä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "tenir la route"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "helytálló"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "tartható"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "megáll"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "helyes"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "hiteles"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "megállja a helyét"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "reggere un ipotesi"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "trzymać się kupy"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "vydérživatʹ kritiku",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "выде́рживать критику"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "држати воду"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"tags": [
"Latin"
],
"word": "držati vodu"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"King James Version"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-hold water.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b9/En-au-hold_water.ogg/En-au-hold_water.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/En-au-hold_water.ogg"
}
],
"word": "hold water"
}
{
"etymology_text": "Possibly from the King James Version of Jeremiah 2:13: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”",
"forms": [
{
"form": "holds water",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "holding water",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "held water",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "held water",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "hold<,,held> water"
},
"expansion": "hold water (third-person singular simple present holds water, present participle holding water, simple past and past participle held water)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "hold up"
},
{
"word": "hold one's water"
},
{
"word": "watertight"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English idioms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English predicates",
"English terms with quotations",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned",
"Serbo-Croatian terms with redundant script codes",
"Terms with Danish translations",
"Terms with Dutch translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with Hungarian translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2017 August 13, Brandon Nowalk, “Oldtown offers one last game-changing secret as Game Of Thrones goes behind enemy lines (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club:",
"text": "At the parlay, Tyrion also tries to claim Tywin’s murder was self-defense, which holds some water, and despite Jaime’s anger, I suspect he can see it from that side.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1888, Horatio Alger, chapter 35, in The Errand Boy:",
"text": "\"Young man,\" he said, \"upon this point I can only say that your story is grossly improbable. It won't hold water.\"",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To withstand scrutiny or criticism; to be valid."
],
"links": [
[
"scrutiny",
"scrutiny"
],
[
"criticism",
"criticism"
],
[
"valid",
"valid"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To withstand scrutiny or criticism; to be valid."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"wikipedia": [
"King James Version"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-hold water.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b9/En-au-hold_water.ogg/En-au-hold_water.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/En-au-hold_water.ogg"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "zhàndezhù",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "站得住"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "zhàndezhù jiǎo",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "站得住腳 /站得住脚"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "chénglì",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "成立"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "holde vand"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "hout snijden"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "steek houden"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "pitää vettä"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "kestää tarkastelua"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "olla vedenpitävä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "tenir la route"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "helytálló"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "tartható"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "megáll"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "helyes"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "hiteles"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "megállja a helyét"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "reggere un ipotesi"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "trzymać się kupy"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "vydérživatʹ kritiku",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"word": "выде́рживать критику"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "држати воду"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "withstand scrutiny",
"tags": [
"Latin"
],
"word": "držati vodu"
}
],
"word": "hold water"
}
Download raw JSONL data for hold water meaning in All languages combined (4.9kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-20 using wiktextract (c15a5ce and 5c11237). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.