From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhold on to somebody/something phrasal verbKEEP/CONTINUE TO HAVEto keep something rather than losing it, selling it, or giving it to someone else The soldiers held on to the bridge for three more days. I think I’ll hold on to these old records for now. → hold→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
hold on to • This might enable them to hold on to around 100 of their present 270 seats.• Whitman won because she held on to conservatives.• To Marquand, MacDonald's real fault was that he held on to his nineteenth-century principles for too long.• He wasn't sure that he would be given a chance to hold on to his wife.• Once I picked it up, I just wanted to make sure I held on to it.• He could hold on to office even though so severely disabled as to be unable to lead.• These beautiful new books, filled with morals and happy endings, help us hold on to our storytelling heritage. 