holding yard
1
5.1
- noun
:
corral
- Before processing, the sheep were kept in a holding yard to ensure their safety.
Examples
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A vee of geese honked overhead, a cow bellowed angrily from the holding yard, and a school of small fish breached the surface in front of them in a gravelly shower.
Fiction book (1993) -
We will require a holding yard.
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We could build a holding yard up on the flat spur, and drive them in.
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The farmer built a holding yard to prepare the cattle for sale.
-
The animals were gathered in the holding yard while waiting for transportation to the market.
Synonyms
30
5.3
An enclosure for keeping farm animals like cattle or horses
6
6.3
A fenced area where people keep animals like cows and sheep before transport or slaughter
2
3.1
A small fenced area where farmers keep animals before moving them
An enclosed area where farmers keep animals for a short time before moving them
A place where animals wait before being killed or moved
A small fenced area that holds animals like sheep or cattle for a short time
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an enclosure where livestock are temporarily kept' is directly derivable from combining 'holding' (the act of keeping) with 'yard' (an area of ground). This straightforward noun-noun/participle + noun composition follows common English compounding patterns and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
The noun holding yard comes from the simple image of a yard used for holding animals while they wait to be moved or processed. So, today it means 'an enclosure where livestock are temporarily kept'.