holding
hold·ing[ˈhəʊɫdɪŋ]noun, verb
holding is spelled H-O-L-D-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables (hold·ing). It appears 78 times per million words in written English, the 1,369th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, holding means “Something that one owns, especially stocks and bonds” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of holding is holdings.
How many letters and syllables are in holding?
| Letters | 7: H-O-L-D-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: hold·ing |
| In writing | 78 times per million words; the 1,369th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is holding?
Holding appears 78 times per million words in written English, the 1,369th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce holding?
- /ˈhəʊldɪŋ/
- Australia [ˈhəʉɫdɪŋ]
- UK [ˈhəʊɫdɪŋ]
Holding has 2 syllables, split hold·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-holding.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of holding
- holdings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does holding mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Something that one owns, especially stocks and bonds.
- 2
A determination of law made by a court.
- 3
A tenure; a farm or other estate held of another.
- 4
obsoleteLogic; consistency.
- 5
A foul consisting of impermissibly restricting the movement of an opposing player with the hands or stick.
- 6
obsoleteThe burden or chorus of a song.
- 7
obsoleterareThat which holds, binds, or influences; hold; influence; power.
- 8
nonstandardA holding company, or other kind of company.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of hold
They were caught holding hands in the dark.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Holding in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense something that one owns, especially stocks and bonds:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | possession |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does holding come from?
From hold + -ing. The sense "holding company" is from Russian холдинг (xolding), a pseudo-anglicism derived from an ellipsis of holding company.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).