Thread: to pass an examination; to sit an examination in

I see some confusion on the translation of this two verbs in my dictionaries.
To do an examination, to sit an examination in smthg.: держать* экзамен ; выдержать
to pass an examination: сдавать - сдать экзамен ; выдержать
I see выдержать with these two meanings, as perfective and as "to pass an examination"
To make it more funny, I see "сдавать - сдать экзамен" with its proper meaning (I think): to give / deliver the examination after having done it to the teacher, regardless of the final success or not.
Can you clear something "this cloud that I'm under" ?
Thank you.

"Выдержать экзамен" and "сдать экзамен" both mean to pass an exam, referring to the result. "Выдержать экзамен" sounds a bit obsolete, and hardly ever used in spoken language, although journalists still use it pretty often. Another difference between the two is that "выдержать" always implies that the exam has been passed successfully. You can say "я плохо сдал экзамен" (i.e. your mark was too low to be admitted to an university, for example), whereas "я плохо выдержал экзамен" comes across as an oxymoron.

"Держать экзамен" and "сдавать экзамен" means to sit/be sitting an exam, referring to the process. "Держать экзамен" sounds obsolete, but you have probably guessed already .

'Держать и выдержать экзамен' sounds rather dated today. If you want to say 'to take an exam" and "pass an exam',
stick to 'сдавать экзамен' and 'сдать экзамен'. Incidentally, when I translate standard documents such as
supplements to diploma, or transcrips of grades, I add the word 'successfully" in order to avoid confusion.