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English (UK)
Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of holding in English

holding
noun [ C usually plural ]
uk
/ˈhəʊl.dɪŋ/ us
/ˈhoʊl.dɪŋ/

holding noun [C usually plural] (LAW)

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[ C usually plural ]
something that you own such as shares in a company or buildings, or land that you rent and farm:
To ensure security the investment fund has holdings in many companies.
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Mortgages & real estate
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holding noun [C usually plural] (SPORT)

[ U ]
in American football, the illegal act of using the hands in a way that is different from blocking to prevent a player on the other team who is not carrying the ball from moving forwards:
The play did not count because the offensive lineman was called for holding.
[ U ]
in basketball, the illegal act of using the hands to prevent a player on the other team who is not carrying the ball from moving forwards:
The referee called a holding foul on Stevens because he grabbed Wilson's jersey.
holding the stick
in ice hockey, the act of using the hand or other part of the body to hold back another player's stick, which is against the rules:
Henry was called for holding the stick and sent to the penalty box for two minutes.
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holding
adjective [ before noun ]
  sports   specialized
uk
/ˈhəʊl.dɪŋ/ us
/ˈhoʊl.dɪŋ/
In football, if a midfield player has a holding role, their main job is to help the defence rather than attack an opponent's goal:
Without a holding midfielder, the two centre backs can be left exposed.
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(Definition of holding from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

holding | Business English

holding
noun [ C ]
  FINANCE
uk
/ˈhəʊldɪŋ/ us
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assets such as property, shares, or cash that a government, company, or person owns:
holding in sth The government announced that it would replace its gold reserves with holdings in dollars, euros and yen.
Foreign central banks might reduce their holdings of American Treasury bonds.
cash/stock/property, etc. holdings
the amount of a company's shares that a person or organization owns:
holding in sth He is considering selling his 28% holding in the company.
increase/raise/build up a holding The Chairman bought a further 80,000 shares, increasing his holding to 20.3%.
reduce/cut a holding The sale is part of a plan by the Dutch state to reduce its holding in the former government-controlled group.
Holdings [ plural ]
used in the names of some holding companies:
TEC Holdings has been in existence since 2007.

See also

cross-holding
hand-holding
(Definition of holding from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
What is the pronunciation of holding?
 

Translations of holding

in Chinese (Traditional)
私人股份, 私人建築, 租用的農田…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
私人股份, 私人建筑, 租用的农田…
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in Spanish
defensivo…
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in Portuguese
de articulação…
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in more languages
in Polish
in Turkish
udział…
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hisse, pay…
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