- present participle of hold.
holding
Americannoun
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holdings
plural
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the act of a person or thing that holds.
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a section of land leased or otherwise tenanted, especially for agricultural purposes.
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a company owned by a holding company.
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Often holdings. legally owned property, especially stocks, bonds, or real estate.
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Library Science. holdings, the entire collection of books, periodicals, and other materials in a library.
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Sports. the illegal obstruction of an opponent, as in football, basketball, or ice hockey, by use of the hands, arms, or stick.
noun
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land held under a lease and used for agriculture or similar purposes
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(often plural) property to which the holder has legal title, such as land, stocks, shares, and other investments
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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:
England's other holding midfielder, Elliott Anderson, moved into the first line to form the 3-1 shape.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
"The findings showed that he had met the professional and security requirements for employment, including holding a pilot's licence, providing a certificate of good conduct and completing the required checks."
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Jelly Roll later expanded this rural holding with the addition of an adjacent 18.5-acre parcel that was purchased through the same trust for $500,000 in November 2025.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
“The next target is the psychologically significant $90,000, and $92,000 is the next resistance level to watch if it manages to break out of its current holding pattern,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Indeed, if you're looking at your brain from the outside, you might wonder if you're holding the cortex backwards.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
As the New York Times reported last month, even friendly countries are reducing their holdings of U.S.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
If AI-centric earnings fall short of expectations, hyperscalers’ leverage and large global holdings of U.S. equities could turn disappointment into a far-reaching shock, she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
In total, his real estate holdings in the waterfront community are said to be worth upward of $180 million.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
But one of the advantages of hiring an adviser is getting a different perspective from someone who has an inside view of our holdings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 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.
