held over; holding over; holds over
: to continue (as in office) for a prolonged 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
Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2025
That part of our system is really a holdover from the days when branch banking was prohibited, but that hasn’t been the case since the 1990s.
—Norbert Michel, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
Kenton Gewecke, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2025
The actual data show good news: a declining trend in multiple job holding over decades, with a recent upturn.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for holdover
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
Barbara Byrne, former vice chairman of British investment bank Barclays PLC, is the lone holdover from the old board and will sit as an independent director.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2025
That part of our system is really a holdover from the days when branch banking was prohibited, but that hasn’t been the case since the 1990s.
—Norbert Michel, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
Verb
The smoke from Canada is expected to move over Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., while holding over much of Pennsylvania and New York, as calming high pressure and stable winds could hold onto this haze over the Northeast through much of the week and potentially even the weekend.
—Kenton Gewecke, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2025
The actual data show good news: a declining trend in multiple job holding over decades, with a recent upturn.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for holdover
Cite this Entry
“Holdover.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holdover. Accessed 24 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal 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 years—B. N. Cardozo
B. N. Cardozo
holdover
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share