hold the fort

English

Alternative forms

• hold down the fort

Verb

hold the fort (third-person singular simple present holds the fort, present participle holding the fort, simple past and past participle held the fort)

1. To assume or take responsibility, especially in another's absence.
2. To maintain a secure position.

Translations

to assume or take responsibility

• Danish: holde stand
• Finnish: pitää pystyssä
• French: tenir la boutique, tenir le pot droit, garder la boutique
• German: die Stellung halten
• Hungarian: tartja a frontot
• Polish: pilnować (pl) impf, brać odpowiedzialność impf, wziąć odpowiedzialność pf

Further reading

• “hold the fort” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “hold the fort”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “hold the fort”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “hold the fort”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “hold the fort for someone” (US) / “hold the fort for someone” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.