bag holding

American  

[bag hohl-ding] / ˈbæg ˌhoʊl dɪŋ /

Sometimes bag-holding or bagholding

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.

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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.

Etymology

Origin of bag holding

First recorded in 2015–20

Example Sentences

A bag holding $1,000 face value of pre-1965 silver coins—dimes, quarters and half dollars—now costs about $38,000.

From Barron's • Oct. 20, 2025

Murphy took to keeping a "go" bag holding dialysis equipment in case such a situation arose.

From Salon • Aug. 21, 2022

She recalled herself as a little girl, stepping over a low fence and squeezing behind a hedge where each day she found a brown paper bag holding a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2022

A parachute jumper swooped over the car and his weighted bag holding a huge Texas flag in place slammed into the No. 29 Chevy.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 5, 2012

Several times a day, the guerrillas would stop to rest, and dip into a dirty cloth bag holding cooked rice mixed with some kind of fish or meat.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge