Definition of "holding pattern" [holding pattern]

• A usually circular pattern flown by aircraft awaiting clearance to land at an airport. (noun)
• Informal A state of waiting or delay; a static situation: environmental groups that wish to put oil exploration into a holding pattern. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The stalemates could shift into a deeper holding pattern in August during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when the pace of daily life traditionally slows as the Islamic world observes a dawn-to-dusk fast and other customs such as temporary truces."