closely held
adjective
: 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
That wave of acquisition concentrated enormous value into illiquid and closely held assets.
—
Azeem Khan, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
Trump administration officials insist that the details shared were not classified, though the Espionage Act technically criminalizes the mishandling of any information deemed to be closely held national defense information even if not classified.
—Eric Tucker, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2025
Those not in the know—which included almost all of us in the Opinions section, because the piece was unusually closely held—figured that the delay involved negotiating over tone and adjectives.
—Ruth Marcus, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025
In true Fogelman fashion, any further details about Paradise are being as closely held as the particulars of Jack’s (Milo Ventimiglia) death.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for closely held
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.
Azeem Khan, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
Trump administration officials insist that the details shared were not classified, though the Espionage Act technically criminalizes the mishandling of any information deemed to be closely held national defense information even if not classified.
—Eric Tucker, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2025
Those not in the know—which included almost all of us in the Opinions section, because the piece was unusually closely held—figured that the delay involved negotiating over tone and adjectives.
—Ruth Marcus, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025
In true Fogelman fashion, any further details about Paradise are being as closely held as the particulars of Jack’s (Milo Ventimiglia) death.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for closely held
Cite this Entry
“Closely held.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/closely%20held. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share