Idioms

ahold

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(a)hold of (someone or something)

1. Literally, a grip on someone or something. The police officer got ahold of the suspect before he could run away. My sister had ahold of me at our mother's funeral to keep herself from breaking down in tears. I had a hard time keeping ahold of Rover's leash once he started barking at the neighbor's cat.
2. Successful contact and communication with someone. I wasn't able to get ahold of my brother over the weekend, I hope he's OK. Has anyone gotten hold of Janet in IT? I still don't know how long this outage is going to last. Good luck getting ahold of Dad, you know his phone is never charged.
3. Total control, influence, or power over someone. Well, once corporations get ahold of a politician, it's easy to predict where that senator's or congressperson's interests will lie. Addiction seems to have completely gotten ahold of John. I have a really hard time finishing and submitting assignments once perfectionism gets ahold of me.
4. Captivation of someone's attention, interest, or imagination. Her latest novel got ahold of me and didn't let go until I'd read it cover to cover. It's an action movie, so it just grabs ahold of you and keeps you riveted for the whole two hours. The idea just grabbed ahold of me, and, the next thing I knew, I'd written the whole story in one go.
See also: of

catch (a)hold of (someone or something)

To grasp or grip something. Catch hold of that end of the sheet and pull it straight. I tried to catch ahold of her before she fell off the step, but it happened too fast. Luckily, Seth was able to catch hold of the dog's collar and pull him back into the yard.
See also: catch, of

get ahold of (one)

1. Literally, to grab and hold onto someone with one's hands. The police officer got ahold of the suspect before he could run away. My sister got ahold of me at our mother's funeral to keep herself from breaking down in tears. Luckily, I saw that the gate was open just in time to get ahold of the dog and keep him in the yard.
2. To successfully make contact and communicate with one. I wasn't able to get ahold of my brother over the weekend, I hope he's OK. Has anyone been able to get ahold of Grandma since the storm hit? Can you please get ahold of Tracy's assistant and see if we're still meeting today? Thanks.
3. To gain total control, influence, or power over one. Well, once corporations get ahold of a politician, it's easy to predict where that senator's or congressperson's interests will lie. Addiction seems to have completely gotten ahold of John. It's hard to recognize safety in your surroundings once panic gets ahold of you.
4. To capture one's attention, interest, or imagination. Her latest novel got ahold of me and didn't let go until I'd read it cover to cover. Once an idea for a story gets ahold of me, I usually can't rest until I've sketched out an outline. You guys binged that whole show? I always thought it was boring, so I'm surprised it got ahold of you.
See also: ahold, get, of

get ahold of (oneself)

To regain control of one's emotions; to begin acting calmly and rationally. A: "I can't do this! I can't!" B: "Come on, man, get ahold of yourself! Jumping out of an airplane is just the start of our assignment." I struggled to get ahold of myself before having to read the eulogy. Once my anxiety takes over, it's hard to get ahold of myself again.
See also: ahold, get, of

grab (a)hold of (someone)

1. Literally, to grab and hold onto someone with one's hands. The police officer grabbed hold of the suspect before he could run away. My sister grabbed ahold of me at our mother's funeral to keep herself from breaking down in tears. Luckily, I saw that the gate was open just in time to grab ahold of the dog and keep him in the yard.
2. To gain total control, influence, or power over someone. Once major corporations grab hold of a politician, it's easy to predict where his political interests will lie. Addiction seems to have completely grabbed ahold of John. It's hard to recognize safety in your surroundings once panic grabs ahold of you.
3. To capture someone's attention, interest, or imagination. Her latest novel grabbed hold of me and didn't let go until I'd read it cover to cover. Once an idea for a story grabs ahold of me, I usually can't rest until I've sketched out an outline. You guys binged that whole show? I always thought it was boring, so I'm surprised it grabbed ahold of you.
See also: grab, of

have (a)hold of (someone or something)

Literally, to have a grip on someone or something. The police officer had ahold of the suspect before he could run away. My sister had ahold of me at our mother's funeral to keep herself from breaking down in tears. It's a good thing I had a hold of Rover's leash when I took him out—some fool had left the gate open!
See also: have, of

lay hold of (someone or something)

1. To grasp or grip someone or something. Lay hold of that end of the sheet and pull it straight. I tried to lay hold of her before she fell off the step, but it happened too fast.
2. To come to possess, control, or gain custody of someone or something. See if you can lay hold of a plane we can use to transport these goods across the border. If they police ever lay hold of him, he'll spend the rest of his life behind bars.
3. To manage to understand or conceive of something. It's a tricky concept to lay hold of, I know. I must have read this passage three times, but I simply cannot lay hold of its meaning.
See also: hold, lay, of

take (a)hold

1. To grasp or seize in one's hands. Take hold of this rope and lower yourself out the window. He took ahold of the box and carried it out of the building.
2. To become settled, established, or in control with great power and tenacity. Panic took hold of the crowd when the gunshot was heard. I'm afraid the cancer has taken ahold of his entire body.
See also: take

take (a)hold of (someone or something)

1. To grasp or seize someone or something in one's hands. Take hold of this rope and lower yourself out the window. He took ahold of the box and carried it out of the building. I tried to take ahold of her before she fell off the step, but it happened too fast.
2. To gain control over someone or something. Panic took hold of the entire country after the government declared war on the neighboring nations. You've got to calm down. You can't let fear take ahold of you like this.
See also: of, take
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive
One example he cites is Ahold Delhaize's emphasis on increasing in-store vaccinations.
Ahold Delhaize Sharpens Focus on Its Brands
Ahold Delhaize first announced the move in December.
Ahold Delhaize Creates New Umbrella for U.S. Operations
The divestments are made to comply with the conditions that the Belgian Competition Authority attached to its approval of the merger of Ahold and Delhaize Group in 2016.
Ahold Delhaize to Sell Four Stores, One Project in Belgium
Ahold USA's retail divisions, Stop & Shop New England, Stop & Shop New York Metro, Giant Landover, and Giant Carlisle, embarked on a technology overhaul in collaboration with Verizon Enterprise Solutions to create a 'smarter store' for today's always-connected consumer, Verizon said.
Verizon, Ahold USA complete digital transformation Stop & Shop, Giant, Martin's
With a couple of exceptions, all courses will be taught at the Ahold USA support office.
Saint Joseph's partners with Ahold USA
Hosted by PG Brand Director and Stagnito Business Media VP Jeff Friedman and Chief Content Editor Meg Major, the intimate, invitation-only reception provided the event's valued sponsor partners a special opportunity to celebrate with, and extend personal congratulations to, Ahold USA and its divisions' senior leadership teams from Stop & Shop New England, Stop & Shop New York Metro, Giant Landover and Giant/Martin's.
Progressive Grocer Celebrates Ahold USA and Its Divisions as Its 2014 Retailer of the Year
The goal is part of Ahold USA's six-pillar Reshaping Retail strategy, which Boer first announced in 2011, not long after he began his position at the company.
Grabbing ahold of the reins
Despite overlaps in the online retailing of books, toys, games, music and films in the Netherlands, where Flevo operates through its subsidiary bol.com and Ahold through its online forum albert.nl, the EU executive concluded that the transaction would not create competition concerns due to the parties' limited combined market presence.
MERGERS : AHOLD'S ACQUISITION OF FLEVO GETS GREEN LIGHT
"Reducing our carbon footprint is a primary tenet of Ahold USA's main corporate responsibility priorities, which helps us minimize our impact on the environment while at the same time making operations more efficient," said Jihad Rizkallah, vice president of store planning for Ahold USA.
Ahold USA Recognized by EPA for Green Power Purchases
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that it has reached a final settlement with Dutch retailer Ahold. The SEC's complaint alleged that, as a result of the fraudulent inflation of promotional allowances at Ahold subsidiary U.S.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that it has reached a final settlement with Dutch retailer Ahold
The Dutch retail group Koninklijke Ahold NV (Ahold) has reportedly agreed to buy out Norwegian company Canica AS' 20% stake in Scandinavian retail chain ICA AB.
Ahold agrees to buy 20% stake in ICA AB - report
Royal Ahold sold its Peruvian and Chilean supermarket chains Supermercados Santa Isabel, as well as its Paraguay operations Supermercados Stock, as part of a company plan to exit South America and reduce its debt of approximately US$13 billion.
Tough talks
On April 14, 2000, Peapod (a "dot-com" grocery business) and Royal Ahold (a growing international "brick-and-mortar" food retailer headquartered in the Netherlands) announced a definitive agreement whereby Royal Ahold will invest $73 million in Peapod and receive 51 percent of Peapod's outstanding shares.
B2C DOT-COMS ARE INVESTMENT TARGETS FOR TRADITIONAL ENTERPRISES
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