fire vs hold

fire

verb
  • To forcibly direct (something). 

  • To shoot a gun, cannon, or similar weapon. 

  • To initiate an event (by means of an event handler). 

  • To shoot (a gun, rocket/missile, or analogous device). 

  • To drive away by setting a fire. 

  • To animate; to give life or spirit to. 

  • To shoot; to attempt to score a goal. 

  • To set (something, often a building) on fire. 

  • To set off an explosive in a mine. 

  • To light up as if by fire; to illuminate. 

  • To feed or serve the fire of. 

  • To operate a rocket engine to produce thrust. 

  • To terminate the employment contract of (an employee), especially for cause (such as misconduct or poor performance). 

  • To terminate a contract with a client; to drop a client. 

  • To inflame; to irritate, as the passions. 

  • To heat as with fire, but without setting on fire, as ceramic, metal objects, etc. 

  • To cause an action potential in a cell. 

  • To cauterize. 

noun
  • A heater or stove used in place of a real fire (such as an electric fire). 

  • The bullets or other projectiles fired from a gun or other ranged weapon. 

  • Splendour; brilliancy; lustre; hence, a star. 

  • The elements necessary to start a fire. 

  • Strength of passion, whether love or hate. 

  • Red coloration in a piece of opal. 

  • The occurrence, often accidental, of fire in a certain place, causing damage and danger. 

  • A (usually self-sustaining) chemical reaction involving the bonding of oxygen with carbon or other fuel, with the production of heat and the presence of flame or smouldering. 

  • Liveliness of imagination or fancy; intellectual and moral enthusiasm. 

  • An instance of this chemical reaction, especially when intentionally created and maintained in a specific location to a useful end (such as a campfire or a hearth fire). 

  • A planned bombardment by artillery or similar weapons, or the capability to deliver such. 

  • A severe trial; anything inflaming or provoking. 

  • An instance of firing one or more rocket engines. 

  • The aforementioned chemical reaction of burning, considered one of the Classical elements or basic elements of alchemy. 

adj
  • Amazing; excellent. 

hold

verb
  • To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain. 

  • To detain. 

  • To take place, to occur. 

  • In a food or drink order at an informal restaurant etc., requesting that a component normally included in that order be omitted. 

  • To have and keep possession of something. 

  • Not to move; to halt; to stop. 

  • To be or remain valid; to apply (usually in the third person). 

  • To contain or store. 

  • To be in possession of illicit drugs for sale. 

  • To organise an event or meeting (usually in passive voice). 

  • To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain. 

  • To win one's own service game. 

  • To cause to wait or delay. 

  • To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain. 

  • To bind (someone) to a consequence of his or her actions. 

  • To maintain, to consider, to opine. 

  • To grasp or grip. 

  • To reserve. 

  • To bear, carry, or manage. 

  • To keep oneself in a particular state. 

  • To remain continent; to control an excretory bodily function. 

  • Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to remain unbroken or unsubdued. 

noun
  • The property of maintaining the shape of styled hair. 

  • The part of an object one is intended to grasp, or anything one can use for grasping with hands or feet. 

  • Power over someone or something. 

  • A place where animals are held for safety 

  • An act or instance of holding. 

  • Keep a firm hold on the handlebars. 

  • A position or grip used to control the opponent. 

  • The wager amount, the total hold. 

  • A fruit machine feature allowing one or more of the reels to remain fixed while the others spin. 

  • The cargo area of a ship or aircraft (often holds or cargo hold). 

  • The ability to persist. 

  • An exercise involving holding a position for a set time 

  • An order that something is to be reserved or delayed, limiting or preventing how it can be dealt with. 

  • Something reserved or kept. 

  • A grasp or grip. 

  • The percentage the house wins on a gamble, the house or bookmaker's hold. 

  • As of Monday night the total Melbourne Cup hold was $848,015 

  • The House Hold on the game is 10,000, this is the amount of decision or risk the house wishes to assume. 

  • The queueing system on telephones and similar communication systems which maintains a connection when all lines are busy. 

  • A statistic awarded to a relief pitcher who is not still pitching at the end of the game and who records at least one out and maintains a lead for his team. 

  • An instance of holding one's service game, as opposed to being broken. 

  • A region of airspace reserved for aircraft being kept in a holding pattern. 

How often have the words fire and hold occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )