runholder

run·hold·er
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UK/ˈɹʌnhəʊldə/US/ˈɹʌnˌhoʊldəɹ/Australia, New Zealand/ˈɹanhɐʉldə/

noun

A person who leases or owns a run (“rural landholding for farming”), especially one for raising sheep.

First used 19th c.Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nounrunholder (plural runholders)

plural runholders

  1. New ZealandA person who leases or owns a run (“rural landholding for farming”), especially one for raising sheep.First known use 19th c.

    Edward Stafford […] was a member of the Anglo-Irish gentry and had arrived in Nelson in 1843 to become a runholder.

    2003, Michael King, The Penguin History of Aotearoa New Zealand, Penguin, published 2023, page 193

Origin

From run (“rural landholding for farming, usually for running sheep”) + holder. Run (noun) is derived from run (“(chiefly Australia, New Zealand) to allow (cattle, sheep, etc.) to graze and move freely on land; to raise (livestock)”, verb).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish tilanomistaja
  • tilanomistajaperson who holds a run
Cite this entry
APA

runholder. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/runholder

MLA

“runholder.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/runholder. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “runholder,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/runholder.

Source: runholder on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.