runholder UK /ˈɹʌnhəʊldə/US /ˈɹʌnˌhoʊldəɹ/ noun1 •(New-Zealand) A person who leases or owns a run (“rural landholding for farming”), especially one for raising sheep.Edward Stafford […] was a member of the Anglo-Irish gentry and had arrived in Nelson in 1843 to become a runholder. — 2003 formsrunholders