Dictionary

uphold en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˌʌpˈhəʊld/

Etymology

From Middle English upholden, equivalent to up- + hold. Compare Dutch ophouden (“to stop, cease, hold up”), German aufhalten (“to stop, halt, detain”). Compare also Middle Low German upholt, Old Norse upphald (“uphold, support”).

Meanings

1. (transitive) To hold up; to lift on high; to elevate.
   • The mournful train/ Echoed her grief, [...]/ With groans, and hands upheld, to move his mind, /Besought his pity to their helpless kind 1899, John Dryden, Geoffrey Chaucer, Percival Chubb, Dryden's Palamon and Arcite, page 5:
2. (transitive) To keep erect; to support; to sustain; to keep from falling.
   • That misbegotten devil, Falconbridge, /In spite of spite, alone upholds the day. 1623, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King John, Act V, Scene iv:
   • A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. 1769, The King James Bible, Proverbs 29:23:
   • In early May [of 2025], Mr. Trump said, “I don’t know” when asked by NBC News if he had to uphold the Constitution. 2025 May 9, Cameron Joseph, “They’ve watched democracies fail. They see it happening under Trump.”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
   • Wednesday June 02, 2021, Has the Northern Ireland Protocol undermined the United Kingdom? Similarly, both the Government and the EU argued at the time the deal was agreed that they were upholding the Good Friday Agreement by implementing the Protocol.
   • Uttering such broken ejaculations Mrs. Hart burst into a passion of tears, and only Lord Chetwynde's strong arms prevented her from falling. / He upheld her. 1872, James De Mille, The Cryptogram, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2009:
3. (transitive) To support by approval or encouragement; to vindicate; to confirm (something which has been questioned).
   • but there was still a connexion upheld among the different ideas, which succeeded each other. 1748, David Hume, Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral., London: Oxford University Press, published 1973, § 18:
   • We must continually separate out and clearly articulate that support for the Jews as a people has nothing to do with upholding the policies of the Israeli state. 1986 February 15, GCN staff, “Our Movement Is No Place for Jew-hating”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 31, page 4:
   • let any moral come along and she would uphold it 1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

upholdatory · upholder · upholsterer · upholdable · upholster

Synonyms

vindicate

Translations (76)

ja 支持する (to support by approval or encouragement) · ar رَفَعَ (to hold up) · es confirmar (to support by approval or encouragement) · mi tautīnei (to support by approval or encouragement) · de emporhalten (to hold up) · ru ока́зывать подде́ржку (to keep erect) · bg подкрепям (to support by approval or encouragement) · ar دَعَمَ (to support by approval or encouragement) · mi tautīnei (to keep erect) · fi tukea (to keep erect) · ja 支える (to support by approval or encouragement) · fi ylläpitää (to support by approval or encouragement) · de hochhalten (to keep erect) · ru одобря́ть (to support by approval or encouragement) · nb hevde (to hold up) · es sustentar (to keep erect) · id melestarikan (to support by approval or encouragement) · nb lufte (to hold up) · nl staande houden (to support by approval or encouragement) · ar سَنَدَ (to keep erect) · sco uphaud (to support by approval or encouragement) · nl hoog houden (to hold up) · mi whakamaranga (to hold up) · de aufrecht halten (to keep erect) · es enforzar (to keep erect) · nl verdedigen (to support by approval or encouragement) · es sostener (to support by approval or encouragement) · de verteidigen (to support by approval or encouragement) · fi pysyttää voimassa (to support by approval or encouragement) · sv upprätthålla (to support by approval or encouragement) · nl ondersteunen (to support by approval or encouragement) · fi pitää ennallaan (to support by approval or encouragement) · pt suportar (to support by approval or encouragement) · fr soutenir (to support by approval or encouragement) · nl schragen (to keep erect) · la tueor (to keep erect) · de unterstützen (to support by approval or encouragement) · nb holde (to keep erect) · nl steunen (to keep erect) · es elevar (to hold up) · id menjaga (to support by approval or encouragement) · nb heve (to hold up) · es levantar (to hold up) · bg поддържам (to keep erect) · nl bevestigen (to support by approval or encouragement) · it sostenere (to support by approval or encouragement) · de aufrechterhalten (to keep erect) · bg повдигам (to hold up) · fr soutenir (to keep erect) · fi pitää pystyssä (to keep erect) · ru отстаива́ть (to keep erect) · ca sostenir (to keep erect) · de hochhalten (to hold up) · id mendukung (to support by approval or encouragement) · id menyokong (to support by approval or encouragement) · fi nostaa (to hold up) · la tueor (to hold up) · ja 掲げる (to hold up) · de bestätigen (to support by approval or encouragement) · de hochheben (to hold up) · ru сохраня́ть (to keep erect) · bg насърчавам (to support by approval or encouragement) · fi pitää yllä (to support by approval or encouragement) · nb støtte (to support by approval or encouragement) · ja 保つ (to support by approval or encouragement) · ru подде́рживать (to keep erect) · id menyangga (to support by approval or encouragement) · ru подтвержда́ть (to support by approval or encouragement) · ru поднима́ть (to hold up) · nl ondersteunen (to keep erect) · it confermare (to support by approval or encouragement) · de emporhalten (to keep erect) · es sostener (to keep erect) · fi pitää yllä (to hold up) · it difendere (to support by approval or encouragement) · es mantener (to keep erect)