Hold

Hi.

Researchers have found that men usually produce more talk than women and are more likely to interrupt another speaker than women will--particularly in public settings, such as business meetings. So although women are believed to talk more than men, study after study has shown that it is men who talk more at meetings, in mixed-group discussions, and in classrooms where girls or young women sit next to boys or young men. And this finding holds even for communicative interactions between very educated and successful professional men and women, such as professors, for example.

What alternative verb could replace the boldfaced verb phrase without any change in meaning?

I came up with 'apply to'.