bag holding

or bag·hold·ing

[ bag hohl-ding ]

noun

1. the act of retaining an unprofitable investment to avoid selling it at a loss, only to suffer an even worse loss when the investment eventually becomes worthless:

   Bag holding is something most traders have done at some point, even the best ones.

adjective

1. Usually bagholding. having, relating to, or characterizing an investment that is or will likely become worthless after the investor’s failure to sell it at a loss earlier in its decline:

   Sites like that give bagholding investors a false sense of security.

   He told me how to identify and avoid stocks that pose a higher bag holding risk.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bag holding¹

First recorded in 2015–20

Example Sentences

Laya flew to New York and found Shulamith emaciated and panhandling, carrying a bag holding a hammer and an unopened can of food.

From The Daily Beast

He dropped the bananas into the paper bag holding the gingerbread, and frowned heavily.

From Project Gutenberg

With the one cent they bought a paper bag holding perhaps a pint of fried potatoes.

From Project Gutenberg