holding pattern
noun
1
: the usually oval course flown (as over an airport) by aircraft awaiting clearance especially to land
2
: a state of waiting or suspended activity or progress
Examples of holding pattern in a Sentence
Our plane was in a holding pattern for almost an hour because of the fog.
repair work on the bridge was in a holding pattern for the duration of the winter
Recent Examples on the Web
Like other economic factors, including capital expenditures and consumer spending levels, employment conditions are in a holding pattern as companies wait to see where U.S. tariff policy lands amid President Trump’s ongoing trade war and his fragile truce with top trading partner China.
—
Tobias Burns, The Hill, 3 June 2025
Normally her social media is overwhelmed by memes about missing home and her mother, two topics weighing on her heart over the seven months she was stuck in a migratory holding pattern in Mexico City, where The Christian Science Monitor first met her.
—Whitney Eulich, Christian Science Monitor, 2 June 2025
East Daley Analytics, an energy infrastructure consultant, claims that the gas market will operate in a cautious holding pattern for the time being.
—Bryce Erickson, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
However, there likely will be no victory laps nor corks popped from the Fed: Inflation may have been on a cooling course, but the Trump administration’s tariffs — the bulk of which are in a temporary holding pattern — threaten to reverse that progress.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for holding pattern
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Tobias Burns, The Hill, 3 June 2025
Normally her social media is overwhelmed by memes about missing home and her mother, two topics weighing on her heart over the seven months she was stuck in a migratory holding pattern in Mexico City, where The Christian Science Monitor first met her.
—Whitney Eulich, Christian Science Monitor, 2 June 2025
East Daley Analytics, an energy infrastructure consultant, claims that the gas market will operate in a cautious holding pattern for the time being.
—Bryce Erickson, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
However, there likely will be no victory laps nor corks popped from the Fed: Inflation may have been on a cooling course, but the Trump administration’s tariffs — the bulk of which are in a temporary holding pattern — threaten to reverse that progress.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for holding pattern
Cite this Entry
“Holding pattern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holding%20pattern. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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