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

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

A duffel bag holding eight rolls of Goetta sausage.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 24, 2022

At the morgue, Zena Laboonska leaned over the body bag holding her 31-year-old son, Sergey Sydorchuk, bearing a tag with the number 184.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2022

I’d put away my book and journal so they wouldn’t get wet and just sat there on my bag, holding my legs up tight, watching everything.

From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña