holdover

1 of 2

noun

hold·​over ˈhōld-ˌō-vər How to pronounce holdover (audio)
: one that is held over

hold over

2 of 2

verb

held over; holding over; holds over

intransitive verb

: to continue (as in office) for a prolonged period

transitive verb

1
b
: to retain in a condition or position from an earlier period
2
: to prolong the engagement of
the film was held over another week

Examples of holdover in a Sentence

Noun He is the only holdover from their last championship team. This policy is a holdover from the previous administration. Verb the golf tournament had to be held over until the line of thunderstorms had passed through
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Aided by strong holdovers, along with some potential help among the new wide releases, January could see grosses around $600 million. Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire, 2 Jan. 2025 Thanksgiving’s female-skewing holdovers, Universal’s Wicked and Disney’s Moana 2, are eyeing $20M+ apiece over the Wednesday-to-Sunday frame. Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 24 Dec. 2024
Verb
The Magnificent Seven—Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Tesla, and Meta—together hold over $600 billion in cash reserves, offering them significant flexibility to allocate a portion of their capital to Bitcoin. Leeor Shimron, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024 Luca Matias, a legionnaire, is destined to carry on his family’s name, and maintain their hold over the Forum, after his uncle dies. Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 17 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for holdover 

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1893, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1647, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of holdover was in 1647

Dictionary Entries Near holdover

Cite this Entry

“Holdover.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holdover. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

hold over

verb
: to continue beyond a normal or planned time
the movie was held over for three weeks
holdover
ˈhōl-ˌdō-vər
noun

Legal Definition

hold over

intransitive verb
: to remain in a position or condition
one who holds over in possession of a building after the expiration of a term of yearsB. N. Cardozo
holdover noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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