How is “hold on” used?

In Brief Encounter (1945), one line is: “Hello. ls Mrs. Norton there, please? Yes. l'll hold on.”

Which movie is “hold on” from?

The clip at the top of this page is from Brief Encounter (1945).

used to tell sb to wait or stop; to keep holding sth / sb; used on the telephone to ask sb to wait until they can talk to the person they want

informal · Heard in 314 moviesPlay Phrasal verbs

Oxford75% of films
used to tell sb to wait or stop
Oxford10% of films
to keep holding sth / sb
Oxford5% of films
used on the telephone to ask sb to wait until they can talk to the person they want

Definitions from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 9th edition

Hello. ls Mrs. Norton there, please? Yes. l'll hold on.

Said in 8 films · #1