From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhold swayhold swayto have a lot of influence or power Among people here, traditional values still hold sway. → hold
Examples from the Corpus
hold sway• This of course benefits the income of the less expensive factor of production, as is inevitable when capital holds sway.• His reputedly Herculean virility long remained a byword throughout the district over which he held sway.• It's a place for Comici's drop-of-water philosophy to hold sway.• Suddenly new possibilities are springing to life where previously deadlock and despair held sway.• That is why we feel justified in saying that Realism has held sway for the last forty years.• The old communist party still holds sway in many rural areas.• The Marsh End at that time had at least two moles who held sway in their different ways over moles of their generation.• Nearly 10 years later, she still holds sway on Wall Street.• That romantic notion held sway over me, and probably delayed my perception of Clarisa as some one with a medical problem.• This all happened long ago, when priests held sway over the majority of the Irish people. 