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Synonyms

holding company

American  

noun

Finance.

  1. a company that controls other companies through stock ownership but that usually does not engage directly in their productive operations (parent company ).

holding company British  

noun

  1. a company with controlling shareholdings in one or more other companies

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
holding company Cultural  

  1. A company that controls other companies.

Etymology

Origin of holding company

First recorded in 1905–10

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.

NS Group is the holding company for Nihon Safety, which is a leader in the rent-guarantee industry by size and profitability, the analyst says in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

James was Burden’s colleague, a senior associate who at the time was handling, with Burden’s help, the IPO for an internet holding company.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

The Bank of America, whose global headquarters are in North Carolina, is a multinational investment bank and financial services holding company.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

His Smith Financial holding company holds stakes in several other businesses, including Fairstone Bank of Canada.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

The short-term wins for the United States and United Kingdom included regaining limited access to Iran's oil by having a stake in a holding company called Iranian Oil Participants, or IOP.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

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.