Verb

(en verb)

To bring (someone) into the presence of (a person); to introduce formally.

to present an envoy to the king

To nominate (a member of the clergy) for an ecclesiastical benefice; to offer to the bishop or ordinary as a candidate for institution.

To offer (a problem, complaint) to a court or other authority for consideration.

* 1971 , , Religion and the Decline of Magic , Folio Society 2012, p. 71:

In the diocese of Gloucester in 1548 two inhabitants of Slimbridge were presented for saying that holy oil was ‘of no virtue but meet to grease sheep’.

(reflexive) To come forward, appear in a particular place or before a particular person, especially formally.

* Bible, Job i. 6

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the lord.

To put (something) forward in order for it to be seen; to show, exhibit.

* Alexander Pope

So ladies in romance assist their knight, / Present the spear, and arm him for the fight.

To make clear to one's mind or intelligence; to put forward for consideration.

* 1927 , (Arthur Conan Doyle), The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes :

I do begin to realize that the matter must be presented in such a way as may interest the reader.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-01

, author=Steven Sloman , title=The Battle Between Intuition and Deliberation , volume=100, issue=1, page=74 , magazine= citation , passage=Libertarian paternalism is the view that, because the way options are presented' to citizens affects what they choose, society should ' present options in a way that “nudges” our intuitive selves to make choices that are more consistent with what our more deliberative selves would have chosen if they were in control.}}

To put on, stage (a play etc.).

The theater is proud to present the Fearless Fliers.

(military) To point (a firearm) at something, to hold (a weapon) in a position ready to fire.

(reflexive) To offer oneself for mental consideration; to occur to the mind.

Well, one idea does present itself.

(medicine) To appear (in a specific way) for delivery (of a fetus); to appear first at the mouth of the uterus during childbirth.

(medicine) To come to the attention of medical staff, especially with a specific symptom.

The patient presented with insomnia.

To act as presenter on (a radio, television programme etc.).

Anne Robinson presents "The Weakest Link".

To give a gift or presentation to (someone).

She was presented with an honorary degree for her services to entertainment.

To give (a gift or presentation) to someone; to bestow.

* Cowper

My last, least offering, I present thee now.

To deliver (something abstract) as though as a gift; to offer.

I presented my compliments to Lady Featherstoneshaw.

To hand over (a bill etc.) to be paid.

Verb

(lb) To grasp or grip.

:

*

*:But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window.

*, chapter=23

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=The slightest effort made the patient cough. He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.}}

*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=September-October, author=(Henry Petroski)

, magazine=(American Scientist), title= The Evolution of Eyeglasses , passage=The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone,

(lb) To contain or store.

:

(lb) To maintain or keep to a position or state.

#(lb) To have and keep possession of something.

#:

#*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 14, author=Angelique Chrisafis

, title=Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism, work=Guardian citation , passage=She was Nicolas Sarkozy's pin-up for diversity, the first Muslim woman with north African parents to hold a major French government post. But Rachida Dati has now turned on her own party elite with such ferocity that some have suggested she should be expelled from the president's ruling party.}}

#(lb) To reserve.

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#(lb) To cause to wait or delay.

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#(lb) To detain.

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#(lb) To be or remain valid; to apply.

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#*(John Locke) (1632-1705)

#*:The rule holds in land as all other commodities.

#To keep oneself in a particular state.

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#*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)

, chapter=2 citation , passage=Mother

#(lb) To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain.

#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

#*:We cannot hold mortality's strong hand.

#*(Richard Crashaw) (1613-1649)

#*:Death! what do'st? O, hold thy blow.

#* (1800-1859)

#*:He hath not sufficient judgment and self-command to hold his tongue.

#(lb) To bear, carry, or manage.

#:

#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

#*:Let him hold his fingers thus.

# Not to move; to halt; to stop.

#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

#*:And damned be him that first cries, "Hold , enough!"

#(lb) Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to remain unbroken or unsubdued.

#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

#*:Our force by land hath nobly held .

# To remain ; to control an excretory bodily function.

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(lb) To maintain or keep to particular opinions, promises, actions.

#(lb) To maintain, to consider, to opine.

#*1776 , (Thomas Jefferson) et al.'', ''(United States Declaration of Independence) :

#*:We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

#*

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned. But he had then none of the oddities and mannerisms which I hold to be inseparable from genius, and which struck my attention in after days when I came in contact with the Celebrity.}}

#(lb) To bind (someone) to a consequence of his or her actions.

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#To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain.

#*Bible, (Psalms) lxxxiii.1:

#*:Hold not thy peace, and be not still.

#*(John Milton) (1608-1674)

#*:Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost, / Shall hold their course.

#To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain.

#*Bible, ii.15:

#*:Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught.

#*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)

#*:But still he held his purpose to depart.

#(lb) To restrain oneself; to refrain; to hold back.

#*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)

#*:His dauntless heart would fain have held / From weeping, but his eyes rebelled.

To win one's own service game.

To organise an event or meeting (usually in passive voice).

:

*, chapter=5

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held , one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.}}

(lb) To derive right or title.

*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)

*:My crown is absolute, and holds of none.

*1817 , (William Hazlitt), ''

*:His imagination holds immediately from nature.