put something on hold
put (something) on hold
To pause, postpone, or suspend an activity. We've had to put the sale on hold while we figure out why the website keeps crashing. Do you mind if we put date night on hold for a few weeks until we get done with this project at work?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
put something on hold
COMMON If you put something on hold, you decide not to do it or deal with it until a later time. We'll have to put the project on hold until we get some more money. They had normal family lives which couldn't be put on hold every time she felt ill. Note: You can also just say that something is on hold. A few months later it was announced that the deal was on hold, perhaps permanently. Note: This expression is probably from the term used in the past when someone making a telephone call waited for the operator to connect them.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
put something on hold
temporarily defer taking action on or pursuing somethingOriginally, to put someone on hold was literally to make them wait for a telephone connection.
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