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
Emily Feng, NPR, 5 June 2025
Spillane and Gibbens both signed as a free agent, while Rice is a holdover from last season and Riley joined as a rookie free agent in late April.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 3 June 2025
Liam Wright, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Forest’s play-off round tie will be held over two legs on August 21 and August 28, which is after the start of the new Premier League season.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 29 May 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
At the time, Chinese goods entering the U.S. (and vice versa) faced an average customs levy of around 20%, most of which was a holdover from tariffs imposed during Trump's first term in office and which the Biden administration declined to roll back.
—Emily Feng, NPR, 5 June 2025
Spillane and Gibbens both signed as a free agent, while Rice is a holdover from last season and Riley joined as a rookie free agent in late April.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 3 June 2025
Verb
The company currently holds over 100,000 BTC on its balance sheet, acquired using profits beyond its stablecoin reserves.
—Liam Wright, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Forest’s play-off round tie will be held over two legs on August 21 and August 28, which is after the start of the new Premier League season.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 29 May 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 14 Jun. 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