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
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
4 July 2026
The side dishes are beans, coleslaw, and potato salad, culinary holdovers of Old Europe in a new context.
—
Adrian Miller,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
1 July 2026
Nicholas Kerr,
ABC News,
4 July 2026
The festivities were held over four days in the Italian city, and included boat rides, bachelor and bachelorette parties, the wedding itself, and a luxe reception.
—
Britt Hayes,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 July 2026
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
The studio tapped Ana Nogueira to write the script, a holdover from the former DCEU plans for a standalone Supergirl film.
—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
4 July 2026
The side dishes are beans, coleslaw, and potato salad, culinary holdovers of Old Europe in a new context.
—
Adrian Miller,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
1 July 2026
Verb
The event, billed as the largest display ever held over the National Mall, is set to feature 850,000 pyrotechnic effects and fireworks, event organizers said.
—
Nicholas Kerr,
ABC News,
4 July 2026
The festivities were held over four days in the Italian city, and included boat rides, bachelor and bachelorette parties, the wedding itself, and a luxe reception.
—
Britt Hayes,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 July 2026
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. 2026.
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
