- present participle of hold.
holding
Americannoun
-
holdings
plural
-
the act of a person or thing that holds.
-
a section of land leased or otherwise tenanted, especially for agricultural purposes.
-
a company owned by a holding company.
-
Often holdings. legally owned property, especially stocks, bonds, or real estate.
-
Library Science. holdings, the entire collection of books, periodicals, and other materials in a library.
-
Sports. the illegal obstruction of an opponent, as in football, basketball, or ice hockey, by use of the hands, arms, or stick.
noun
-
land held under a lease and used for agriculture or similar purposes
-
(often plural) property to which the holder has legal title, such as land, stocks, shares, and other investments
-
sport the obstruction of an opponent with the hands or arms, esp in boxing
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of holding
First recorded in 1175–1225, holding is from the Middle English word holding. See hold 1, -ing 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
His first assignment for Servite was holding the down marker and he hasn’t stopped since.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
That means it is holding ground against Hollywood blockbusters like The Odyssey and Spider Man: Brand New Day.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said late Saturday that it isn’t holding the pilots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The governor's office said shifting winds had complicated firefighters' efforts but that "the defensive line protecting evacuated areas is holding".
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
‘Here,’ said Renn, holding out the ravenskin pouch.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
That advice ranged from talking about safe investments for long-term holdings to recommendations to buy individual stocks before they popped.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Because his holdings are in a Roth IRA, Thiel won’t have to pay federal tax on his withdrawal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Here are the largest 10 holdings of the Harbor International Core Fund as of June 30.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
“ETF inflows extended to a fifth consecutive session, lifting total holdings to a six-week high and providing further evidence of renewed investor demand.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Her holdings represented great wealth, both in revenue and in resources.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
