holding

^((h aspiré))\ɔl.diŋ\

/^((h aspiré))\ɔl.diŋ\/ noun

The verdict

“holding” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #16,384 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#16,384
frequency rank, French
7
letters
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Société ayant pour vocation de regrouper des participations dans diverses sociétés et dont la fonction est d’en assurer l’unité de direction.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

holding vs holdings
88% similar
holding vs holden
71% similar
holding vs Harding
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for holding
PropertyValue
Headwordholding
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA^((h aspiré))\ɔl.diŋ\
Letters7
Frequency rank#16,384
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “holding” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). holding lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for holding is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as ^((h aspiré))\ɔl.diŋ\. Corpus data places it at rank #16,384 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Société ayant pour vocation de regrouper des participations dans diverses sociétés et dont la fonction est d’en assurer l’unité de direction.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for holding, with forms such as "hholding", "hloding", and "hodling". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "holdings", "holden", "Harding", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is holding, spelled H-O-L-D-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Société ayant pour vocation de regrouper des participations dans diverses sociétés et dont la fonction est d’en assurer l’unité de direction.

Synonyms

société faîtièresociété à portefeuilletrust

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hholding,hloding,hodling,holdding,holdign,holdingg,holdinng,holdnig,holidng,hollding,ohlding

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of holding - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hholding1hloding2hodling2holdding1holdign2holdingg1holdinng1holdnig2
Edit distance from "holding"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "holding"?
"holding" is spelled H-O-L-D-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is ^((h aspiré))\ɔl.diŋ\.
What does "holding" mean?
As a noun, "holding" means: Société ayant pour vocation de regrouper des participations dans diverses sociétés et dont la fonction est d’en assurer l’unité de direction.
What words are commonly confused with "holding"?
"holding" is commonly confused with "holdings", "holden", "Harding". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "holding"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "holding" is ^((h aspiré))\ɔl.diŋ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "holding" come from?
"holding" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “holding”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is H-O-L-D-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as ^((h aspiré))\ɔl.diŋ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “holdings” - see the side-by-side comparison. holding vs holdings
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list