holdover

[ hohld-oh-ver ]

/ ˈhoʊldˌoʊ vər /

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See synonyms for holdover on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person or thing remaining from a former period.

Printing. overset that can be kept for future use.

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Origin of holdover

1885–1890, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase hold over

Words nearby holdover

hold one's tongue, hold on to, hold on to your hat, holdout, hold out on, holdover, hold someone's feet to the fire, hold still for, hold sway over, hold the bag, hold the fort

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use holdover in a sentence

Many of the holdovers from that team — attackman Matt Moore, midfielder Dox Aitken, defender Jared Conners and goalie Alex Rode among them — still play crucial roles.
Maryland eyes perfection and Virginia seeks consecutive crowns in the men’s lacrosse title game|Patrick Stevens|May 30, 2021|Washington Post
Unfazed by a hostile legislature, Bukele began “cleaning house” by firing holdovers from previous governments from his administration.
What Happens Next in El Salvador—And What It Means for the U.S. Border|Ian Bremmer|May 10, 2021|Time
The barriers are a holdover from a time when Internet access was a near-luxury—a consumer product rather than a utility.
The best broadband in the US isn’t in New York or San Francisco. It’s in Chattanooga.|Samanth Subramanian|April 15, 2021|Quartz
While holdovers have largely powered the Leafs’ strong season, they wouldn’t have a 7 percent chance of winning the franchise’s first Cup since 1967 without the contributions from their newcomers.
The Deals That Have Shaped The NHL Season (So Far)|Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com)|March 12, 2021|FiveThirtyEight

That means that the larval phase isn’t a holdover from the deep past, but “a completely new evolutionary innovation,” he says.
These fossilized lamprey hatchlings disprove an age-old evolutionary theory|Philip Kiefer|March 11, 2021|Popular-Science
Mad Men, in other words, is a holdover of sorts: the last of the original Golden Age dramas.
Mad Men’s Dramatic Déjà Vu: ‘Time Zones’ Feels Redundant|Andrew Romano|April 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Unfortunately, there are only five of them, and one (Bjorn) is a holdover from the first game.
Gamer Life: I’m Addicted to ‘Peggle 2’|Alec Kubas-Meyer|December 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I remember thinking that it looked like a holdover from the disco days.
The True Story Behind Dallas Buyers Club: Meet the Real Ron Woodruff|Andrew Romano|November 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Perched atop a mountain of wavy, pulled-back hair is a mangled ball of manliness, a holdover from the days of the samurai.
Joakim Noah Has the Manliest Bun Ever|Sujay Kumar|May 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This holdover off Sloane Square must be doing something right.
The $163,000 Question: What Does It Cost To Be Kate?|Tom Sykes|October 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST
When our men enter military service, there is a strong holdover of their prodigal civilian habits.
The Armed Forces Officer|U. S. Department of Defense
A liquid substance which when applied to a "holdover" revivifies it and enables its owner to sit up and notice the bar-tender.
The Silly Syclopedia|Noah Lott

British Dictionary definitions for holdover

hold over

verb (tr, mainly adverb)

to defer consideration of or action on

to postpone for a further period

to prolong (a note, chord, etc) from one bar to the next

(preposition) to intimidate (a person) with (a threat)

noun holdover US and Canadian informal

an elected official who continues in office after his term has expired

a performer or performance continuing beyond the original engagement

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with holdover

hold over

Postpone or delay, as in Let's hold this matter over until the next meeting. [Mid-1800s]

Keep something in a position or state beyond the normal period, as in The film was to be held over for another week. [First half of 1900s]

Continue in office past the normal period, as in The committee chair held over until they could find a suitable replacement. [Mid-1600s]

hold something over someone. Have an advantage or use a threat to control someone. For example, They knew he'd been caught shoplifting and were sure to hold it over him. [Second half of 1800s]