holding pattern

noun

1

: the usually oval course flown (as over an airport) by aircraft awaiting clearance especially to land

2

: a state of waiting or suspended activity or progress

Synonyms

• abeyance
• cold storage
• deep freeze
• doldrums
• dormancy
• latency
• moratorium
• quiescence
• suspended animation
• suspense
• suspension

Examples of holding pattern in a Sentence

Our plane was in a holding pattern for almost an hour because of the fog.

repair work on the bridge was in a holding pattern for the duration of the winter

Recent Examples on the Web

The bill had been held in a procedural holding pattern until bill sponsor Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, motioned to add it to the next available calendar. —Melissa Brown, The Tennessean, 22 Apr. 2024

One by open-source intelligence analyst MT Anderson said Russian ships, likely the Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Grigorovich frigates, the Novorossiysk Kilo-class submarine and oiler Vyazma were in a holding pattern five miles west of the port. —Brendan Cole, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024

Finding a new job is tough, but employees generally can collect paychecks through this holding pattern. —Courtenay Brown, Axios, 26 Nov. 2024

Athletic department budget projections are in a holding pattern with the NCAA and major college conferences considering a possible settlement of an antitrust lawsuit. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1952, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

holding pattern

noun

1

: the course flown (as over an airport) by an aircraft waiting for permission to land

2

: a state of waiting or suspended activity

the project is in a holding pattern