Definition of "ahold"

ahold¹

/əˈhoʊld/

adverb
not comparable
1. (nautical, obsolete) (of a ship) Brought to lie as near to the windward as it can to get out to sea, and thereby held steady.
  Quotations
  Lay her a hold, a hold, ſet her two courſes off to Sea againe, lay her off.
  1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene i]

ahold²

/əˈhoʊld/

noun
uncountable
1. (informal) A hold, grip, grasp.
  Quotations
  GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF!
  2009, Tim Irwin, Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership‎, Thomas Nelson Inc., page 121
  Uh-oh... I guess I shouldn't have given my last babysitter such a hard time. Somehow she got ahold of the video Mom took of me running around without my diaper ... and posted it on YouTube.
  2009 May 21, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic)