1. To stop gripping or holding onto someone or something as tightly as before; to loosen one's grasp on someone or something. Don't relax your hold on that cable for even a second, or the entire rigging could come crashing down! I relaxed my hold on the other player for a moment, and he managed to get out of my tackle.

2. To strop trying to control someone or something as completely or dominatingly as before. The dictator has been showing signs that he may be relaxing his hold on the country a bit, as he is allowing foreign members of the press in for the first time in over 50 years. If you think my father will ever relax his hold on the company, you've got another think coming. You need to learn to relax your hold on your kids. They've got to make their own decisions in life eventually.