cast vs hold

cast

noun
  • An act of throwing. 

  • Visual appearance. 

  • An object made in a mould. 

  • A supportive and immobilising device used to help mend broken bones. 

  • A squint. 

  • Animal and insect remains which have been regurgitated by a bird. 

  • The form of one's thoughts, mind etc. 

  • The collective group of actors performing a play or production together. Contrasted with crew. 

  • A small mass of earth "thrown off" or excreted by a worm. 

  • The number of hawks (or occasionally other birds) cast off at one time; a pair. 

  • Something which has been thrown, dispersed etc. 

  • The casting procedure. 

  • The mould used to make cast objects. 

  • A group of crabs. 

  • An instance of throwing out a fishing line. 

verb
  • To heave the lead and line in order to ascertain the depth of water. 

  • To consider; to turn or revolve in the mind; to plan. 

  • To bring the bows of a sailing ship on to the required tack just as the anchor is weighed by use of the headsail; to bring (a ship) round. 

  • Of dogs, hunters: to spread out and search for a scent. 

  • To throw forward (a fishing line, net etc.) into the sea. 

  • To throw off (the skin) as a process of growth; to shed the hair or fur of the coat. 

  • To turn (the balance or scale); to overbalance; hence, to make preponderate; to decide. 

  • To throw. 

  • To throw down or aside. 

  • To deposit (a ballot or voting paper); to formally register (one's vote). 

  • To calculate the astrological value of (a horoscope, birth etc.). 

  • To throw (light etc.) on or upon something, or in a given direction. 

  • To open a circle in order to begin a spell or meeting of witches. 

  • To broadcast (video) over the Internet or a local network, especially to one's television. 

  • To remove, take off (clothes). 

  • To direct (one's eyes, gaze etc.). 

  • To shape (molten metal etc.) by pouring into a mould; to make (an object) in such a way. 

  • To perform, bring forth (a magical spell or enchantment). 

  • To twist or warp (of fabric, timber etc.). 

  • To set (a bone etc.) in a cast. 

  • To assign (a role in a play or performance). 

  • To assign a role in a play or performance to (an actor). 

  • To change a variable type from, for example, integer to real, or integer to text. 

adj
  • Of an animal, such as a horse or sheep: Lying in a position from which it cannot rise on its own. 

hold

noun
  • An act or instance of holding. 

  • 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 

  • 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. 

verb
  • 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. 

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

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