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

See Examples For:

bag holding

Jurors were also informed that Walters’ partial fingerprint was found on the white Spencer’s bag holding the cache of stolen firearms that Oxford turned over to police.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

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

Wells hit a grounder that appeared headed for center field, but Edman smothered it with a diving stop on the second-base side of the bag, holding Wells to a single that loaded the bases.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2024

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

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2022

He has other instructions: Don’t rustle the garbage bag holding the clothes.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario