Definition
A predetermined maneuver that keeps an aircraft within a specified airspace while awaiting further clearance from air traffic control. A standard hold uses right turns, while a non-standard hold uses left turns. The pattern is flown relative to a fixed reference point called the holding fix, and consists of two turns and two straight legs that form a racetrack shape.
Plain English
A racetrack-shaped flight pattern a pilot flies over a fixed point to wait in the air until ATC tells them what to do next.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying, air traffic control instructions, approach charts, and situations where an aircraft must wait before continuing.
Derivation
From 'hold,' meaning to keep in place or delay. Aviation borrowed the everyday sense of 'holding' something in position — here, holding the aircraft in a defined patch of sky rather than letting it continue along its route.
Why Pilots Care
It lets controllers manage the flow of aircraft safely and predictably so planes do not bunch up or create conflicts while waiting for landing clearance or route changes.
Grounding Statement
A hold procedure is how an aircraft waits in the sky without leaving its assigned safe area.
Intuition Check
Do not read hold as stopping in place. An aircraft in a hold procedure is still flying; it is following a set waiting pattern.
Example Sentence 1
ATC instructed the pilot to fly a hold procedure at the VOR while waiting for the approach to clear.
Example Sentence 2
The crew used the hold procedure to complete their descent checklist while remaining at the published altitude.