Hold vs. Lean — What's the Difference?

To have and keep in one's grasp

Be in or move into a sloping position

To aim or direct; point

A deviation from the perpendicular; an inclination

To keep from falling or moving; support

The lean part of meat

To sustain the pressure of

(of a person or animal) thin, especially healthily so; having no superfluous fat

To keep from departing or getting away

Offering little reward, substance, or nourishment; meagre

To keep in custody

(of a vaporized fuel mixture) having a high proportion of air

To retain (one's attention or interest)

To bend or slant away from the vertical.

To avoid letting out or expelling

To incline the weight of the body so as to be supported

To be filled by; contain

To rely for assistance or support

To be capable of holding

To have a tendency or preference

To have as a chief characteristic or quality

(Informal) To exert pressure

To have in store

To set or place so as to be resting or supported

To have and maintain in one's possession

To cause to incline

To have as a responsible position or a privilege

A tilt or an inclination away from the vertical.

To have in recognition of achievement or superiority

Meat with little or no fat.

To maintain control over

Not fleshy or fat; thin.

To maintain occupation of by force or coercion

Containing little fat or less fat relative to a standard

To withstand the efforts or advance of (an opposing team, for example).

Not productive or prosperous; meager

To maintain in a given condition, situation, or action

Containing little excess or waste; spare

To impose control or restraint on; curb

Thrifty in management, especially by employing just enough people to accomplish a task or do business

To stop the movement or progress of

(Metallurgy) Low in mineral contents

To reserve or keep back from use

(Chemistry) Lacking in combustible material

To defer the immediate handling of

To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.

To own or have title to.

(copulative) To incline in opinion or desire; to conform in conduct; often with to, toward, etc.

To be in possession of, whether legally entitled or not

Followed by against, on, or upon: to rest or rely, for support, comfort, etc.

To bind by a contract.

To hang outwards.

To adjudge or decree

To press against.

To make accountable; obligate

To thin out (a fuel-air mixture): to reduce the fuel flow into the mixture so that there is more air or oxygen.

To keep in the mind or convey as a judgment, conviction, or point of view

To conceal.

To assert or affirm, especially formally

(of an object taller than its width and depth) An inclination away from the vertical.

To regard in a certain way

(uncountable) Meat with no fat on it.

To cause to take place; carry on

An organism that is lean in stature.

To assemble for and conduct the activity of; convene

A recreational drug based on codeine-laced promethazine cough syrup, especially popular in the hip hop community in the southeastern United States.

To carry or support (the body or a bodily part) in a certain position

(of a person or animal) Slim; not fleshy.

To cover (the ears or the nose, for example) especially for protection

(of meat) Having little fat.

To maintain a grasp or grip on something.

Having little extra or little to spare; scanty; meagre.

To stay securely fastened

Having a low proportion or concentration of a desired substance or ingredient.

To maintain a desired or accustomed position or condition

Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; opposed to fat.

To withstand stress, pressure, or opposition

(business) Efficient, economic, frugal, agile, slimmed-down; pertaining to the modern industrial principles of "lean manufacturing".

To continue in the same direction

To conceal.

To be valid, applicable, or true

To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating; as, she leaned out at the window; a leaning column.

To halt an intended action. Often used in the imperative.

To incline in opinion or desire; to conform in conduct; - with to, toward, etc.

To stop the countdown during a missile or spacecraft launch.

To rest or rely, for support, comfort, and the like; - with on, upon, or against.

(Slang) To have in one's possession illicit or illegally obtained material or goods, especially narcotics

To cause to lean; to incline; to support or rest.

The act or a means of grasping.

Wanting flesh; destitute of or deficient in fat; slim; not plump; slender; meager; thin; lank; as, a lean body; a lean cattle.

A manner of grasping an opponent, as in wrestling or aikido

Wanting fullness, richness, sufficiency, or productiveness; deficient in quality or contents; slender; scant; barren; bare; mean; - used literally and figuratively; as, the lean harvest; a lean purse; a lean discourse; lean wages.

Something that may be grasped or gripped, as for support.

Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; - opposed to fat; as, lean copy, matter, or type.

A control or adjustor on a television that keeps the screen image in proper position

That part of flesh which consists principally of muscle without the fat.

A telephone service that allows one to temporarily interrupt a call without severing the connection.

Unremunerative copy or work.

A bond or force that attaches or restrains, or by which something is affected or dominated

The property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical;

Complete control

To incline or bend from a vertical position;

Full understanding

Cause to lean or incline;

The sustaining of a note longer than its indicated time value.

Have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined;

The symbol designating this pause; a fermata.

Rely on for support;

A direction or indication that something is to be reserved or deferred.

Cause to lean to the side;

A temporary halt, as in a countdown.

Lacking excess flesh;

A prison cell.

Lacking in mineral content or combustible material;

The state of being in confinement; custody.

Containing little excess;

(Archaic) A fortified place; a stronghold.

Low in mineral content;

The lower interior part of a ship or airplane where cargo is stored.

Not profitable or prosperous;

(transitive) To grasp or grip.

(transitive) To contain or store.

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

(transitive) To have and keep possession of something.

(transitive) To reserve.

(transitive) To cause to wait or delay.

(transitive) To detain.

To be or remain valid; to apply (usually in the third person).

To keep oneself in a particular state.

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

(transitive) To bear, carry, or manage.

Not to move; to halt; to stop.

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

To remain continent; to control an excretory bodily function.

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

(transitive) To maintain, to consider, to opine.

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

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

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

(archaic) To restrain oneself; to refrain; to hold back.

To win one's own service game.

To take place, to occur.

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

(archaic) To derive right or title.

(imperative) In a food or drink order at an informal restaurant etc., requesting that a component normally included in that order be omitted.

To be in possession of illicit drugs for sale.

A grasp or grip.

An act or instance of holding.

A place where animals are held for safety

An order that something is to be reserved or delayed, limiting or preventing how it can be dealt with.

Something reserved or kept.

Power over someone or something.

The ability to persist.

The property of maintaining the shape of styled hair.

(wrestling) A position or grip used to control the opponent.

(exercise) An exercise involving holding a position for a set time

(gambling) The percentage the house wins on a gamble, the house or bookmaker's hold.

(gambling) The wager amount, the total hold.

(tennis) An instance of holding one's service game, as opposed to being broken.

The part of an object one is intended to grasp, or anything one can use for grasping with hands or feet.

A fruit machine feature allowing one or more of the reels to remain fixed while the others spin.

A pause facility.

The queueing system on telephones and similar communication systems which maintains a connection when all lines are busy.

(baseball) A statistic awarded to a relief pitcher who is not still pitching at the end of the game and who records at least one out and maintains a lead for his team.

(aviation) A region of airspace reserved for aircraft being kept in a holding pattern.

The cargo area of a ship or aircraft (often holds or cargo hold).

(obsolete) Gracious; friendly; faithful; true.

The whole interior portion of a vessel below the lower deck, in which the cargo is stowed.

The act of holding, as in or with the hands or arms; the manner of holding, whether firm or loose; seizure; grasp; clasp; grip; possession; - often used with the verbs take and lay.

The authority or ground to take or keep; claim.

Binding power and influence.

Something that may be grasped; means of support.

A place of confinement; a prison; confinement; custody; guard.

A place of security; a fortified place; a fort; a castle; - often called a stronghold.

A character [thus ] placed over or under a note or rest, and indicating that it is to be prolonged; - called also pause, and corona.

To cause to remain in a given situation, position, or relation, within certain limits, or the like; to prevent from falling or escaping; to sustain; to restrain; to keep in the grasp; to retain.

To retain in one's keeping; to maintain possession of, or authority over; not to give up or relinquish; to keep; to defend.

To have; to possess; to be in possession of; to occupy; to derive title to; as, to hold office.

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

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

To prosecute, have, take, or join in, as something which is the result of united action; as to, hold a meeting, a festival, a session, etc.; hence, to direct and bring about officially; to conduct or preside at; as, the general held a council of war; a judge holds a court; a clergyman holds a service.

To receive and retain; to contain as a vessel; as, this pail holds milk; hence, to be able to receive and retain; to have capacity or containing power for.

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

To consider; to regard; to esteem; to account; to think; to judge.

To bear, carry, or manage; as he holds himself erect; he holds his head high.

In general, to keep one's self in a given position or condition; to remain fixed. Hence:

Not to move; to halt; to stop; - mostly in the imperative.

Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to remain unbroken or unsubdued.

Not to fail or be found wanting; to continue; to last; to endure a test or trial; to abide; to persist.

Not to fall away, desert, or prove recreant; to remain attached; to cleave; - often with with, to, or for.

To restrain one's self; to refrain.

To derive right or title; - generally with of.

The act of grasping;

Understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something;

Power by which something or someone is affected or dominated;

Time during which some action is awaited;

A state of being confined (usually for a short time);

A stronghold

A cell in a jail or prison

The appendage to an object that is designed to be held in order to use or move it;

The space in a ship or aircraft for storing cargo

Organize or be responsible for;

Keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g.,

Have or hold in one's hands or grip;

To close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement;

Have rightfully; of rights, titles, and offices;

Have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense;

Keep in mind or convey as a conviction or view;

Contain or hold; have within;

Lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits;

Remain in a certain state, position, or condition;

Maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings);

Assert or affirm;

Remain committed to;

Secure and keep for possible future use or application;

Be the physical support of; carry the weight of;

Hold the attention of;

Keep from exhaling or expelling;

Support or hold in a certain manner;

Have room for; hold without crowding;

Be capable of holding or containing;

Be valid, applicable, or true;

Take and maintain control over, often by violent means;

Protect against a challenge or attack;

Declare to be;

Have as a major characteristic;

Cause to stop;

Bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted;

Cover as for protection against noise or smell;

Drink alcohol without showing ill effects;

Be pertinent or relevant or applicable;

Arrange for and reserve (something for someone else) in advance;

Resist or confront with resistance;

Keep from departing;

Stop dealing with;

Aim, point, or direct;

Be in accord; be in agreement;