holding (holdings plural )
1 n-count If you have a holding in a company, you own shares in it. (BUSINESS)
(=investment)
That would increase Olympia & York's holding to 35%...
2 adj A holding operation or action is a temporary one that is intended to keep a situation under control and to prevent it from becoming worse. A garden is, at best, a holding operation against nature.
holding company (holding companies plural )A holding company is a company that has enough shares in one or more other companies to be able to control the other companies. (BUSINESS) n-count