behold

CEFRC2

/bɪˈhəʊld/

verb · interjection

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    see with attention.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To contemplate (someone or something).

Examples

  • Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!

  • Talk of the wolf and behold his skin.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
4
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /biˈhoʊld/
  • /bɪˈhoʊld/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To look.

  2. To look at or see (someone or something), especially appreciatively; to descry, to look upon.

interjection

Extra meaning

  1. look, a call of attention to something

More examples

In context

  • Lo and behold.

  • I was working in the lab late one night When my eyes beheld an eerie sight For my monster, from his slab, began to rise And suddenly, to my surprise He did the Mash He did the Monster Mash.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

As you blank the beautiful sunset, remember how lucky you are.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English biholden, from Old English behealdan (“to hold, possess, preserve, belong, keep, observe, look at, take care, beware, be cautious, restrain, act, behave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihaldan (“to hold with, keep”), equivalent to be- + hold. Cognate with Saterland Frisian behoolde (“to keep”), Dutch behouden (“to keep, restrain, preserve”), German behalten (“to keep, restrain, remember”), Danish and Norwegian beholde (“to keep”) and Swedish behålla (“to keep”).