hold one's own, to

To be able to do something with a sufficient level of skill or as well as others can. Don't you worry about me—I've been playing basketball since I was a kid and can hold my own against you bums. I never knew she played poker, so I was surprised to see her hold her own at my friends' poker night! Please, I've been a lawyer for 10 years—I think I can hold my own in a courtroom.

to do as well as anyone else. I can hold my own in a footrace any day. She was unable to hold her own, and she had to quit.

Do reasonably well despite opposition, competition, or criticism. For example, The team held its own against their opponents, or Rumors often hold their own against facts. [First half of 1300s]

To do reasonably well despite difficulty or criticism.

To stand one’s ground successfully against attack, competition, or some other pressure. The own here refers to position or advantage. In use since the sixteenth century, the expression was a cliché by the nineteenth century. It appears in a famous speech by Winston Churchill in 1942, during World War II: “Let me, however, make this clear. . . . We mean to hold our own. I have not become the King’s First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire.” An alternate synonym is to hold one’s ground. James Patterson used it in his thriller, London Bridges (2004), in a response to a bomb thrown at a building: “A decision had been made not to abandon the building, to hold our ground.”