uppehålla

From Old Swedish uppehalda, equivalent of uppe (“up”) + hålla (“hold”).

• IPA^(key): /²ɵpːɛˌhɔlːa/

uppehålla (present uppehåller, preterite uppehöll, supine uppehållit, imperative uppehåll)

1. (reflexive) to stay (in some area or the like, in the sense of being there for some time (by one's own volition)); to stay, (sometimes) to reside

   Uppehålla sig illegalt i ett land

   Stay/reside illegally in a country

   Hon uppehöll sig mest vid baren under kvällen

   She spent most of the evening at the bar ("She mostly stayed at the bar during the evening," where vid implies the counter of the bar rather than the establishment, where på would be used)

   Vet vi var han uppehåller sig nu för tiden?

   Do we know where he is / is staying these days?

2. (reflexive, figuratively) to dwell (on a topic or the like)

   uppehålla sig vid ett ämne

   dwell on a topic ("stay at a topic")

3. (transitive) maintain, keep up
4. (transitive) delay, stall
5. (transitive) temporarily hold a position, act for somebody

Like "stay" in (sense 1), but in the general sense of remaining somewhere. "Be about" and "linger" are also close in meaning. "Att uppehålla sig på ett hotell" sounds off for "to be staying at a hotel," as it implies remaining at the hotel without necessarily having checked in. Can also be thought of as synonymous with vara (“be”) except implying staying for some time.

• hålla uppe
• uppehåll

• uppehålla in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• uppehålla in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• uppehålla in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)