hold still

hold still (third-person singular simple present holds still, present participle holding still, simple past and past participle held still)

1. To not move; to remain stationary.
   • 2021, Michael Farris Smith, chapter 35, in Nick, New York, Boston, London: Little, Brown and Company, page 178:

     He expected a stomp or a fist against the table but instead she held still and he thought he noticed her shoulders moving up and down in slight huffs.

• hold firm