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
Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2025
Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens is a holdover from the previous staff and spent more than a decade in the NFL, including a one-year run as Browns head coach in 2019.
—David Ubben, New York Times, 19 May 2025
Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Advertisement Advertisement There’s an existential power that deportation holds over the undocumented community.
—Esther Lin, Time, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for holdover
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Noun
That phrase is a holdover from the blog era, when an artist would send a song to a radio DJ, and fans would listen to a low-quality rip on the radio airing while indefinitely waiting for the pristine version to drop on a blog.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2025
Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens is a holdover from the previous staff and spent more than a decade in the NFL, including a one-year run as Browns head coach in 2019.
—David Ubben, New York Times, 19 May 2025
Verb
The small Falcons can't always handle the available business on some routes, and, as a result, some packages must be held over.
—Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Advertisement Advertisement There’s an existential power that deportation holds over the undocumented community.
—Esther Lin, Time, 12 June 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 5 Jul. 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
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