Meaning & use
holding key
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablecomputing
A key on a keyboard or device that you keep pressed down to make something continue.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a holding key' or 'the holding key'. It often appears after 'press' or 'hold'.
Patterns
- press the holding key
- hold down the holding key
- the holding key for something
Press the holding key to keep the menu open while you choose an option.
On this controller, the holding key is the small button on the left side.
If you release the holding key too early, the command will stop.
Word forms
| plural | holding keys |
|---|
Common combinations
- press the holding key
- Press the holding key and then type your password.
- hold down the holding key
- You must hold down the holding key for three seconds.
- release the holding key
- Release the holding key when the light turns green.
- the holding key on the keyboard
- The holding key on the keyboard is worn out.
Synonyms and how they differ
- modifier key
- A modifier key changes what another key does; a holding key is usually held to keep an action going, so they overlap but are not identical.
- hotkey
- A hotkey is a key or combination that starts a command quickly, while a holding key is pressed and kept down.
Word family
Commonly confused: holding key or hold key?
holding key vs hold key
'Hold key' is not a standard compound; it would be read as a verb phrase ('hold the key'). Use 'holding key' for the noun.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'holding key' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Holding key' is a countable noun meaning a key you keep pressed, so 'Press the holding key' fits. The other options use it as a verb or with wrong agreement.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “holding key”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.