The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 4 letter word SPLIT PINS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
P
L
I
T
P
I
N
S
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Their function is to hold" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case their function is to hold = split pins.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.