closely held

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 The guest lists were closely held, including the likes of Brad Pitt, Katy Perry, Tyler, the Creator and others. — Kevin Williams, chicagotribune.com, "Kanye West is having church on Sunday at Northerly Island, but what that will mean is anyone’s guess," 7 Sep. 2019 BP Plc agreed to sell its entire business in Alaska to closely held Hilcorp Energy Co. for $5.6 billion, ending a six-decade presence in the state as oil production there declines. — Bloomberg Wire, Dallas News, "BP leaves Alaska after 60 years in $5.6 billion sale to Houston-based Hilcorp," 27 Aug. 2019 There is no other business so closely held by one family that is also so big and so diversified. — Chris Isidore, CNN, "Koch Industries is the most important company you may not know," 23 Aug. 2019 The Trump administration still can try to delay or block Democrats in Congress from issuing subpoenas for the president’s closely held business information by appealing directly to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to intervene. — Ann E. Marimow, Washington Post, "Democrats’ emoluments lawsuit against President Trump can proceed, federal judge rules," 25 June 2019 The Trump administration still can try to delay or block Democrats in Congress from issuing subpoenas for the president’s closely held business information by appealing directly to the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to intervene. — Jonathan O’connell, BostonGlobe.com, "Democrats’ emoluments lawsuit against Trump can proceed, federal judge rules," 25 June 2019 Trump’s team conducted the legal analysis and came to a conclusion that has remained closely held within the White House, the people said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. — latimes.com, "White House explored legality of demoting Fed Chairman Powell," 18 June 2019 The identities of the jurors have been closely held, kept under seal by Judge T.S. Ellis III at Tuesday's conclusion of the high-profile trial. — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, "Report: Trump tabloid pal cut deal with feds," 24 Aug. 2018 The officials say that the identity of the source had been closely held at the highest levels of the FBI and intelligence community, and the individual has been a source for the FBI and CIA for years. — Maegan Vazquez, CNN, "WSJ: Giuliani says Trump shouldn't talk to Mueller before getting information on FBI source," 20 May 2018

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.

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Dictionary Entries near closely held

closely/well observed

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Cite this Entry

“Closely held.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/closely%20held. Accessed 8 December 2019.

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to constrict the range or activity of

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