held back

Mining companies see enormous wealth in mineral deposits scattered across the seabed, but the fledgling industry has for years been held back by environmental concerns.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

These results may have practical importance because functional health reflects whether people can continue performing routine activities without being held back by fatigue or other symptoms.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

Neither group wants to be held back by regulations.

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026

Major employers largely held back on adding people due to economic uncertainties or a belief that artificial intelligence could shoulder more tasks on the job.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Fifi, there to meet us at the airport, is a jangle of bangles and a cascade of beauty parlor curls held back on one side very smartly by a big gold barrette.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Although the held-back funds make up less than 1% of California’s education budget, they have an outsize cumulative effect.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2025

The held-back funds are tied to programs that, in some cases, have received these dollars for decades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2025

In one moment, a student may sing a solo that lights up the room like a supernova only for them to later sing it through a clenched throat and held-back tears.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2022

Each jurisdiction must appoint two full-time commissioners and submit applications laying out the commission’s safety and investigative credentials and establishing its independence from Metro before the held-back money can be released, FTA officials say.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 23, 2017

I no longer feel the sinking in my gut, the held-back tearfulness that such a false accusation would once have produced.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood