Meaning & use
hold a vigil
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
to stay awake or gather with others for a period of time, especially to pray, protest, or show support
Grammar: Often followed by 'for someone/something' or 'outside a place': hold a vigil for peace.
Patterns
- hold a vigil for someone/something
- hold a vigil outside a place
- hold a vigil at a place
Hundreds of people held a vigil for the victims of the fire.
The community held a vigil outside the hospital to support the nurses.
They held a silent vigil at the town square.
Common combinations
- hold a vigil for peace
- Activists held a vigil for peace in front of the embassy.
- hold a candlelight vigil
- The students held a candlelight vigil to remember their teacher.
- hold a vigil outside
- They held a vigil outside the prison.
Synonyms and how they differ
- keep a vigil
- This is similar but less common; 'hold a vigil' is the standard phrase for organized events.
- stand vigil
- This emphasizes the physical act of standing, while 'hold' is more general.
Practice
Complete the sentence: They held a vigil ___ the victims of the earthquake.
Choose one answer.
The preposition 'for' is used to indicate the person or people the vigil is in honor of. 'To' is not used in this pattern; 'with' would mean together with the victims, and 'on' is not appropriate.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hold a vigil”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.