hold one's water

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

hold one's water (third-person singular simple present holds one's water, present participle holding one's water, simple past and past participle held one's water)

1. (physiology, dated) To restrain one's urge to urinate.

   Synonym: hold it

   • 1877, Shirley Bragg MD, “Structure of the Male Urethra, with Report of Cases,”, in Atlanta Medical and Surgical Journal, Volume 14, pages 645–6:

     […] and if there is much oozing of blood, the application of ice to the penis. The patient is then instructed to hold his water as long as possible.

2. (idiomatic) To be patient; to control one's impulses.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:wait

   Hold your water, I'll get to you in a minute.

   • 2011, Thomas Swan, chapter 1, in The Da Vinci Deception: An Inspector Jack Oxby Novel, →ISBN:

     "C'mon, move it! Get your ass in gear!" […]
     "Hold your water!" Stiehl yelled back. "I'm writing farewell letters."

See also

• hold water
• hold my beer