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.
The S&P 500 has been in holding pattern for two months now, its progress stalled by bond-market carnage and its technicals undermined by the narrow breadth of stocks keeping up the index.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 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
He said they were in a holding pattern for about 15 minutes.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
In advance of Nvidia’s earnings, investors didn’t have much else to parse, turning a breakneck rally into more of a holding pattern, said Gina Martin Adams, chief market strategist at HB Wealth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 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.
