[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/holding.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / holding

[← H](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/H/)

# holding

«holding» in Mova's school dictionary: **the -ing form of "hold": having something in your hands…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a holding, holdings); verb, -ing form of "hold" (hold, holds, held, holding)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Holding is the -ing form of "hold": having something in your hands or arms, or keeping it in place. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#m1)

2) A holding is land or property that someone owns, like a small farm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#m2)

3) Holdings are things like money, shares or books that a person or group owns or keeps. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#m3)

4) In sport, holding is an unfair move where you grab another player. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life and stories: holding hands, holding your breath, holding on. In maths: a jug holding 2 litres (capacity). In business and history: land holdings. In safety: "Keep holding the rail". Phrases: holding hands, holding on, holding up, holding still, holding area.

### examples

- She is holding a kitten. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#x1)
- Keep holding the rail on the stairs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#x2)
- We walked holding hands. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#x3)
- The jug is holding 2 litres of water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#x4)
- He was holding his breath under water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#x5)
- The family has a small holding of land by the river. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#x6)
- The library's holdings include rare maps. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#x7)
- The referee called holding against the player. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#x8)
- "What's the matter?" he asked, holding her tighter. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/#x9)

### note

Verb is irregular: hold, held, held. Noun "holding" (land) is countable. "Smallholding" (UK) = small farm. In maths, "holding" often tells capacity or what someone has now.

### In the corpora

- [Loose brushwork, holding the brush further from the bristles, often makes paintings look more alive.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/14-painting-paints-brushes-mess-and-mistakes/13/)
- [Weaver ants sew leaves into nests, holding their own larvae like glue sticks that spin silk.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/304-ants-of-the-world-weaver-ants-bullet-ants-honeypot-ants-and-trap-jaw-ants/2/)
- [Small ants can carry many times their own weight, and weaver ants were photographed holding about 100 times their weight upside down.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/304-ants-of-the-world-weaver-ants-bullet-ants-honeypot-ants-and-trap-jaw-ants/19/)
- [The first witness is the Hatter, still holding his teacup and bread-and-butter.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1/10/)
- [After that the Rat walks at the back holding Toad firmly by the shoulder.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/70-willows-ch12-part1-the-secret-passage-at-night/7/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «holding» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/holding/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.