closely held

adjective

Definition of closely held

: having most stock shares and voting rights in the hands of a few a closely held business

Examples of closely held in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But not all aides were supportive of the measure, though some kept their criticisms closely held. — Author: Rachel Siegel, Josh Dawsey, Mike Debonis, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump calls on Congress to approve $2,000 stimulus checks, hinting that he might not sign relief bill," 23 Dec. 2020 The annual listing of the state's largest privately and closely held companies ranked by revenue is completed by the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte. — Sarah Hauer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Stella & Chewy's makes 'meaningful' innovations so that 'pet parents see a difference'," 18 Nov. 2020 The program, in which the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte recognizes the state’s largest privately and closely held companies, is now in its 18th year. — Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Sentry says community involvement is its culture. That led to a Deloitte Wisconsin 75 Distinguished Performer Award.," 17 Nov. 2020 Even then, the indictment was sealed and the information was closely held in Washington. — Kevin Sieff, Washington Post, "Anti-drug alliance tested after U.S. arrest of former Mexican defense chief," 24 Oct. 2020 Rather than making a splash with an announcement of that total, the campaign has closely held the number for more than a week. — Bill Allison, Bloomberg.com, "Biden Camp Keeps Quiet on Record Cash Haul So Donors Keep Giving," 9 Oct. 2020 The results detail the study’s positive outcome, which closely held Amylyx, of Cambridge, Mass., had reported last December without giving specific numbers. — Jonathan D. Rockoff, WSJ, "ALS Drug Study Signals Progress Toward Treatment for Deadly Disease," 2 Sep. 2020 This scoop was very, very closely held within the NYT — just like the paper's 2018 Trump tax expose was. — Brian Stelter, CNN, "The New York Times' coverage of Trump's taxes is an emperor-has-no-clothes moment," 28 Sep. 2020 In the six weeks since Epic filed suit against Apple and Google, the closely held developer has led a bitter, public campaign against the app-marketplace operators to rally supporters for its cause. — Sarah E. Needleman, WSJ, "Hearing in ‘Fortnite’ Maker’s Apple Lawsuit to Test Antitrust Claims," 28 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'closely held.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.