How to Use hold court in a Sentence

hold court

phrase
  • There is no full spa, but a teeny tiny sauna holds court in the gym, and massages can be arranged in advance.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Shanahan only previously held court with reporters during the first week of training camp to clear the air and claim fault for the accident.
    — Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • In Odysseus’ absence, Penelope held court to dozens of suitors eager to wed and control Ithaca.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
  • But Rodríguez Castro held court for more than five hours, evoking Fidel Castro’s long, late-night meetings.
    — Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 6 July 2026
  • Kroenke surely does not want any other NFC team owner holding court pregame on the Super Bowl sideline.
    — Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2026
  • Prudhomme holds court to several microphone-wielding local journalists.
    — Andy McGrath, New York Times, 11 July 2026
  • At least Florence Pugh’s Yelena/Black Widow briefly shows up, holding court in the waters of a Russian bath, and that’s hardly a bad thing.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 28 July 2026
  • Tarik Skubal was holding court at his locker Saturday afternoon when the Detroit Tigers’ top draft selection popped up on a clubhouse television.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 12 July 2026
  • Meanwhile on the other side of Grant Park, Charli XCX was holding court on the T-Mobile stage with her apt backing band and a bevy of dancers.
    — Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 1 Aug. 2026
  • As residents, activists, farmers and journalists squeezed and jostled through the crowd, holding court in one corner was Budd-Falen, the high-ranking official with the Interior Department.
    — Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Perched along the Sea of Marmara, the boutique property sits on the largest of the islands, Büyükada, whose Ottoman-era mansions are where intellectuals and aristocrats held court in the 19th century.
    — Liam Hess, Vogue, 1 July 2026
  • Teyana Taylor held court in Stéphane Rolland on the 2026 BET Awards red carpet in Los Angeles on Sunday night.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Every August, Epic Systems founder Judy Faulkner holds court with over 20,000 people, including staff and executives from her most devoted customers, in an auditorium buried five stories into the Wisconsin earth.
    — STAT, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Experimental voices such as Yoko Ono expanded the possibilities of art, while photographers Gordon Parks, Richard Avedon, William Klein and Guy Bourdin held court in galleries and around the fashion crowd.
    — Tonya Blazio-Licorish, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Withers rocked a black tank top and chatted closely with his friend and honor presenter Shipka, while McRae and Sombr held court in individual booths on the Four Seasons lawn peppered with activations from Eternal Water and CashApp.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Along with the 26 Hall of Famers in attendance, Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, Torii Hunter and Anthony Rizzo were on hand as members of the Netflix broadcast team and held court with three-time batting champion Luis Arraez, among others.
    — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The Sopranos creator David Chase held court during the 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) in the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 7 July 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hold court.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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