hold down

hold down idiom
  1. Also, keep down. Limit, restrain, as in Please hold down the noise. [First half of 1500s] Also see keep down.
  2. Work at or discharge one's duties satisfactorily, as in He managed to hold down two jobs at the same time. [Colloquial; 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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