hold forth
English
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb
hold forth (third-person singular simple present holds forth, present participle holding forth, simple past and past participle held forth)
- (transitive) To extend or offer, propose.
- (intransitive) To talk at great length.
- Synonyms: expatiate, harangue
- 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 5, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], OCLC 855945:
- The girls all liked to hear him talk. They often gathered in a little circle while he sat on a bench, and held forth to them, laughing.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 2, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
- […] they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans.
- 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN, page 55:
- Warmed to the woman somewhat, I admit it. She holds forth like a man and smokes myrrhy cigarettes through a rhino-horn holder.
Translations
talk at great length
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