UK US hold sb/sth back
— Phrasal Verb with hold({{}}/həʊld/ verb (held, held)
► to prevent someone or something from changing, moving, or developing: »
She hadn't got the promotion she wanted, and she accused her boss of holding her back.
»What's holding back that company is a failure to consider the Internet as a market rather than as competition.
Financial and business terms. 2012.