hold sway
English
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb
hold sway (third-person singular simple present holds sway, present participle holding sway, simple past and past participle held sway)
- (idiomatic) To have the greatest influence (over someone or something); to be pre-eminent; to dominate.
- 1913, Elizabeth Kimball Kendall, A Wayfarer in China
- Within Lololand, of course, no Chinese writ runs, no Chinese magistrate holds sway, and the people, more or less divided among themselves, are under the government of their tribal chiefs.
- 2019 May 5, Danette Chavez, “Campaigns are Waged On and Off the Game Of Thrones Battlefield (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 28 January 2021:
- Not only is Jon’s claim to the Iron Throne stronger than hers, thanks to a patriarchal society, but her heroic deeds—and the attendant risks—hold no sway in the North.
- 1913, Elizabeth Kimball Kendall, A Wayfarer in China
Translations
to have the greatest influence (over someone or something) — See also translations at dominate
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