Holdup

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A delay or obstruction in progress or operation can signify an armed robbery or theft occurring, as well as a situation that causes someone to be late or stopped
2. This term describes both an interruption that causes a delay in an activity and an instance of robbery, emphasizing prevention or stoppage
3. It refers to a situation that obstructs movement or progress while simultaneously denoting instances of theft or robbery that disrupt normalcy

Etymology: The noun "holdup" is a deverbal formation, meaning it was built from the phrasal verb "hold up" rather than inherited or borrowed from another language. Its two senses map neatly onto the verb's two main uses: stopping or delaying something, as in a traffic jam, and forcibly halting a person in order to rob them. Both senses grow out of the same basic idea of holding something back or in place. The word is a straightforward product of English's habit of turning phrasal verbs into nouns. Speakers took "hold up" and nominalized it, so the noun carries the verb's core meaning of stopping movement or progress. The robbery sense came to the fore because "to hold up" a stagecoach or a bank meant to stop it at gunpoint, and the noun followed that usage.

Synonyms: delay, impediment, obstruction, interruption

Antonyms: progress, advancement, continuation