“Can you hold it in for a few more minutes?”

English Lesson: Can you hold it in for a few more minutes?

You're on a car trip with your son. He says that he has to go to the bathroom, but you just stopped at a gas station 10 minutes ago. You don't want to stop again so soon. You ask him:

Can you hold it in for a few more minutes?

hold it in

When you have to use the bathroom, but you need to wait, you "hold it in".

Something else that people "hold in" is a secret:

She told me not to say anything about it, but I just couldn't hold it in!

So you might say that people "hold in" something that's inside of them but pushing to get out.

(do something) for a few more minutes

This is an easy expression to understand, but it might be helpful to remember it all together. Here are some other examples:

Stir it for a few more minutes.

Let's wait for just a few more minutes.


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