holding pattern
Americannoun
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a traffic pattern for aircraft at a specified location holding point where they are ordered to remain until permitted to land or proceed.
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a state or period in which no progress or change is made or planned.
noun
Etymology
Origin of holding pattern
First recorded in 1950–55
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.
City have appealed against the verdict, but until the dust settles and final decisions are made, this Premier League season is in a holding pattern.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and his seemingly supernatural competence at both city management and marketing, has laid a blueprint for kitchen-table progressives looking to bust out of the Trump-era holding pattern.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
Many of the software startups that launched in the early 2010s, Medina said, aren’t growing fast enough to elicit any real interest from public-market investors, putting them in a holding pattern.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
I contacted the other driver’s insurance company, and they said they’re waiting for the accident report before moving forward — so I’m basically in a holding pattern.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
It wasn’t until the third holding pattern southwest of Kennedy Airport that Klotz told ATC that he didn’t think the plane had enough fuel to reach an alternative airport.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
