holding pattern

noun

1
: the usually oval course flown (as over an airport) by aircraft awaiting clearance especially to land
2
: a state of waiting or suspended activity or progress

Examples of holding pattern in a Sentence

Our plane was in a holding pattern for almost an hour because of the fog. repair work on the bridge was in a holding pattern for the duration of the winter
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Like other economic factors, including capital expenditures and consumer spending levels, employment conditions are in a holding pattern as companies wait to see where U.S. tariff policy lands amid President Trump’s ongoing trade war and his fragile truce with top trading partner China. Tobias Burns, The Hill, 3 June 2025 Normally her social media is overwhelmed by memes about missing home and her mother, two topics weighing on her heart over the seven months she was stuck in a migratory holding pattern in Mexico City, where The Christian Science Monitor first met her. Whitney Eulich, Christian Science Monitor, 2 June 2025 East Daley Analytics, an energy infrastructure consultant, claims that the gas market will operate in a cautious holding pattern for the time being. Bryce Erickson, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025 However, there likely will be no victory laps nor corks popped from the Fed: Inflation may have been on a cooling course, but the Trump administration’s tariffs — the bulk of which are in a temporary holding pattern — threaten to reverse that progress. Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 30 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for holding pattern

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1952, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of holding pattern was circa 1952

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Cite this Entry

“Holding pattern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holding%20pattern. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

holding pattern

noun
1
: the course flown (as over an airport) by an aircraft waiting for permission to land
2
: a state of waiting or suspended activity
the project is in a holding pattern
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