Definition of "hold on"

hold on

verb
third-person singular simple present holds on, present participle holding on, simple past and past participle held on
1. To grasp or grip firmly.
2. (idiomatic) To keep; to store something for someone.
3. (idiomatic) Wait a short while.
  Quotations
  The departure was not unduly prolonged. In the road Mr. Love and the driver favoured the company with a brief chanty running. “Got it?—No, I ain't, 'old on,—Got it? Got it?—No, 'old on sir.”
  1922, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest
4. (idiomatic) To remain loyal.
5. (idiomatic) To persist.
  Quotations
  This trade held on for many years.
  1723, Jonathan Swift, Some Arguments Against Enlarging the Power of Bishops
  That scare aside, Wolves had little trouble in holding on for their first league away win of the season and their first over the Reds since little-known striker Steve Mardenborough gave them a victory at Anfield in January 1984.
  2010 December 29, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC