Cool MateBe patient vs Hold your horses
When to use each in English, with meaning, register, and examples.
Be patient
Top 2,000 (common)
Hold your horses
InformalTop 5,000 (fairly common)
Most formal: Be patientMost common: Be patient
| Be patient | Hold your horses | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | 🇬🇧 //biː ˈpeɪʃənt//🇺🇸 //bi ˈpeɪʃənt// | 🇬🇧 //həʊld jɔː hɔːsɪz//🇺🇸 //hoʊld jʊr ˈhɔrsɪz// |
| Meaning | Wait calmly without getting angry or upset. | Wait a moment or be patient. |
| Example | You need to be patient while the cake is baking. | Before you rush into the meeting, please hold your horses and think it through. |
| Register | Neutral | Informal |
| How common | Top 2,000 (common) | Top 5,000 (fairly common) |
| Collocations | be patient with someone, be patient during delays, please be patient, learn to be patient, try to be patient | hold your horses, hold on, slow down, wait a minute, hold tight |
| Common mistakes | Use in contexts where impatience is clearly shown., Confuse with 'be hasty', which means to rush., Forget to use in situations requiring calmness. | Used in formal situations where a more polite request is needed., Misinterpreted literally, forgetting its idiomatic meaning., Not used when a stern command is appropriate. |
| Usage notes | Use 'be patient' when advising someone to wait without frustration. Appropriate in both formal and informal settings. | Used informally to ask someone to slow down or stop being impatient. It's suitable in casual conversations but not in formal settings. |
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Frequently asked questions: Be patient vs Hold your horses
What's the difference between Be patient and Hold your horses?
Be patient: Wait calmly without getting angry or upset. Hold your horses: Wait a moment or be patient.
Which is more formal: Be patient and Hold your horses?
Be patient is the most formal of these.
Which is more common: Be patient and Hold your horses?
Be patient is the most common in everyday English.
Can you show an example of each?
Be patient: You need to be patient while the cake is baking. Hold your horses: Before you rush into the meeting, please hold your horses and think it through.
Can I use Be patient and Hold your horses interchangeably?
Not always. Be patient and Hold your horses are related and overlap in some contexts, but they differ in register, how common they are, and usage, so swapping one for another can change the meaning or tone. Check the differences above before substituting.