Definition
Stopping an aircraft before crossing a designated point on the airport surface — most commonly a runway hold line on a taxiway — and remaining there until ATC issues a clearance to cross, enter, or take off from that runway.
Plain English
Stopping before a marked line on the ground and waiting there until the controller tells you it's okay to go past it.
Context Anchor
Used during taxi, runway crossing, and runway incursion prevention, especially when air traffic control tells a pilot to hold short of a runway.
Derivation
Hold' here means to stay in place, and 'short' means before reaching something. So 'holding short' literally means stopping before you reach the line — not stopping briefly.
Why Pilots Care
Prevents runway incursions that can lead to collisions between aircraft on the ground.
Intuition Check
Do not read “holding short” as just slowing down or pausing somewhere nearby. In this context, it means stopping before the specified boundary and not crossing it until allowed.
Example Sentence 1
Cessna 123, taxi to runway 27 via Alpha, hold short of runway 32.
Example Sentence 2
While holding short of taxiway Alpha, the crew watched for other traffic before receiving clearance to cross.