holster
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a sheathlike leather case for a pistol, attached to a belt or saddle
-
mountaineering a similar case for an ice axe or piton hammer
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of holster
1655–65; < Dutch; cognate with Gothic hulistr, Old Norse hulstr sheath; akin to Old English helan to hide
Explanation
The noun holster looks like holder and that's exactly what it is. Some holsters hold a single item, like a gun, and others are more like tool belts, holding many small items. The o in holster is long, so pronounce it like this: "HOLE-ster." Originally, the word described something very specific — a leather case for a pistol. It probably comes from the Old English word heolster (earlier helustr), which means "concealment, hiding place." Today, holsters may hide what they hold, but they always keep things handy.
Vocabulary lists containing holster
Ghost Boys
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"Just Lather, That's All" and "The Woman Who Was Death"
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Elijah of Buxton
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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:
On display here is a circa 1770 officer’s holster pistol, owned by Washington.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
The officer then calmly put his gun back in his holster and walked toward the car, which had crashed into another car down the street.
From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2026
It was Traoré who stole the show at the inauguration of Ghana's President John Mahama in January, when he arrived wearing battle fatigues with a pistol in his holster.
From BBC ● May 11, 2025
Ferguson kept his Glock loaded in a velcro ankle holster and wore it everywhere “unless he was showering or sleeping,” Hunt said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2025
Rinaldi carried a holster stuffed with toilet paper.
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
The agents wore balaclavas partially covering their faces, he says, and some carried rifles while others had handguns in their holsters.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026
Living in Oklahoma, I’m used to seeing crossed-gun Second Amendment bumper stickers on the backs of trucks and gun holsters displayed proudly on people’s waists.
From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2024
Department officials have said little publicly, but a few weeks after the girl’s death, they sent an email reminder to all deputies, instructing them not to use unapproved holsters or weapons.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2024
“The man, wearing two shoulder holsters with loaded pistols and spare ammunition magazines, was carrying a U.S. Marshal badge on a lanyard and belt clip federal ID,” Mr. Kennedy said.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 16, 2023
Some pose, trying to look frightening, tough, their thumbs tucked into their holsters.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
