halten

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halten

1. plural of halte

From Middle High German halten, from Old High German haltan, from Proto-West Germanic *haldan, from Proto-Germanic *haldaną.

Cognate with Bavarian hoidn, Low German holden, Dutch houden, holen, English hold, Danish holde, Icelandic halda, Swedish hålla.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaltn̩/, /ˈhaltən/

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• Audio (Austria):

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• Rhymes: -altn̩

halten (class 7 strong, third-person singular present hält, past tense hielt, past participle gehalten, auxiliary haben)

1. (transitive) to hold (an object in one's hands)
2. (transitive) to stop, to halt, to hold back

   einen Elfmeter halten ― to save a penalty kick

   Haltet den Dieb! ― Stop the thief!

3. (transitive) to support, to hold up (Can we add an example for this sense?)
4. (transitive, with predicate adjective) to keep, to maintain

   Der Wein hält mich jung. ― Wine keeps me young.

5. (transitive) to keep, to provide for [with accusative ‘a certain habit or status’]

   Wache halten ― keep guard

   Ausschau halten ― to be on the lookout

   • 2025 August 25, Peter Franzeck, “Hier gibt's einen hinter die Löffel”, in Westfalen-Blatt (Bielefeld), number 196, page 2:

     Und wo verbringt ein Feldhase, der in freier Wildbahn etwa vier Jahre alt werden kann, den Winter? Er hält zwar keine Winterruhe, versetzt sich aber in den Energiesparmodus.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

6. (transitive) to keep, to provide for, to stock [with accusative ‘a certain exploited asset’]

   Er hält sich zwei Autos. ― He has two available cars.

   • 2012 June 21, Die Welt‎^[1], archived from the original on 12 April 2013, page 22:

     In der Sahara haben prähistorische Bewohner schon vor 7000 Jahren Milchvieh gehalten.

     In the Sahara, prehistoric inhabitants kept dairy cattle already 7000 years ago.

7. (intransitive) to hold, to remain in one piece, to last (of objects undergoing wear and tear, or fragile constructions)

   Wenn du das nur zusammenleimst, wird das nicht lange halten. ― If you're only going to glue it together, that's not going to last for very long.

8. (intransitive) to hold, to stick (of glue, knots, fastenings, etc.)

   Das Klebeband hält nicht mehr so gut. ― The sticky tape doesn't stick as well anymore.

9. (intransitive) to stop (especially temporarily, of vehicles)

   Der Zug hält nicht in Würzburg. ― The train doesn’t stop in Würzburg.

10. (transitive) to take for, to consider [with für (+ accusative or a predicate adjective)]

    Ich halte das für eine Schnapsidee. ― I think that's a rubbish idea.

    Hält er mich für einen Trottel? ― Does he take me for a fool?

    • 2010, Der Spiegel‎^[2], number 32/2010, page 45:

      Wieder einmal hatte es erhitzte Debatten gegeben zwischen Tierschützern und solchen, die Stierkampf für ein schützenswertes Kulturerbe Spaniens halten.

      Once again there had been heated debates between animal rights activists and ones who consider bullfighting a cultural heritage of Spain worth protecting.

11. (reflexive) to consider oneself, to think oneself, to believe [with für (+ accusative or a predicate adjective)]

    Sie hält sich für besonders gescheit. ― She considers herself to be particularly clever.

    Er hält sich für Jesus. ― He believes he is Jesus.

12. (reflexive) to adhere to, to follow (rules, the law, etc.) [with an (+ accusative)]

    Er ist ein Aufrührer, der sich nicht an Ihre Regeln hält. ― He's a rebel who doesn't follow your rules.

    • 2010, Der Spiegel‎^[3], number 46/2010, page 103:

      Die boomende Branche privater Sicherheitsfirmen will sich künftig an strengere Regeln in Krisenregionen halten

      The booming sector of private security companies wants to adhere to stricter rules in crisis regions in the future.

13. (reflexive) to keep, to stay fresh (of food)

    Im Tiefkühlfach hält sich Fleisch länger. ― Meat will keep longer in the freezer.

14. (reflexive) to stay, to manage to keep oneself, to persist (in a position or role when faced with challenges)

    ein Gerücht hält sich hartnäckig ― a rumor persists/refuses to die

    Er konnte sich als Geschäftsführer nicht halten. ― He was not able to hold his own as a CEO.

15. (transitive) expresses a positive or negative opinion (with indefinite expression as a complement, most commonly one of "viel/wenig/nichts") [with von]

    Ich halte viel von Dieter. ― I have a high opinion of Dieter.

    Davon halte ich nichts. ― I don't like that./I don't think that's a good thing to do.

16. (transitive) to give (a presentation, lecture etc.)

    Ich halte morgen ein Referat. ― I'm giving a presentation tomorrow.

• “halten” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “halten” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “halten” in Duden online
• “halten” in OpenThesaurus.de

• halte

Inherited from Old English healtian, from Proto-West Germanic *haltōn, equivalent to halt (“limping”) +‎ -en (infinitive suffix)

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaltən/

halten (third-person singular simple present halteth, present participle haltende, haltynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle halted)

1. To limp; to walk falteringly or unbalancedly.
2. To err or deviate (in behaviour or conduct)
3. To proceed or act crudely or haltingly.
4. (rare) To waver; to be indecisive.

• English: halt
• Middle Scots: halt
  • Scots: halt

• “halten, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

• halden

Inherited from Old High German haltan, from Proto-West Germanic *haldan.

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈhaltən/

halten (class 7 strong, third-person singular present haltet or heltet, past tense hielt, past participle gehalten, auxiliary hān)

1. to hold
2. to stop

• Bavarian: hoiten
• Cimbrian: haltan, haltn (Luserna)
• German: halten
• Luxembourgish: halen
• Yiddish: האַלטן (haltn)

halten

1. definite singular of halt