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hole

Syllabification: (hole)
Pronunciation: /hōl/
Translate hole | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of hole

noun

  • 1a hollow place in a solid body or surface:he dug out a small hole in the snow
  • an animal’s burrow.
  • an aperture passing through something:he had a hole in his sock
  • a cavity or receptacle on a golf course, typically one of eighteen or nine, into which the ball must be hit.
  • a hole as representing a division of a golf course or of play in golf:Stephen lost the first three holes to Eric
  • Physics a position from which an electron is absent, especially one regarded as a mobile carrier of positive charge in a semiconductor.
  • [in place names] a valley:Jackson Hole
  • 2 informal a small or unpleasant place:she had wasted a whole lifetime in this hole of a town
  • informal an awkward situation:get yourself out of a hole

verb

[with object]
  • 1make a hole or holes in:a fuel tank was holed by the attack and a fire started
  • 2 Golf hit (the ball) so that it falls into a hole:alternate shots from each partner until the ball is holed [no object]:he holed in one at the third

Phrases

blow a hole in

ruin the effectiveness of (something):the amendment could blow a hole in the legislation

in the hole

North American informal in debt:we’re still three thousand dollars in the hole

in holes

worn so much that holes have formed:my clothes are in holes

make a hole in

use a large amount of:holidays can make a big hole in your savings

need something like a hole in the head

informal used to emphasize that someone has absolutely no need or desire for something.

a square peg in a round hole

see peg.

Phrasal Verbs

hole out

Golf send the ball into a hole.

hole up

informal hide oneself:I holed up for two days in a tiny cottage in Pennsylvania

Derivatives

holey

Pronunciation: /ˈhōlē/
adjective

Origin:

Old English hol (noun), holian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hol (noun) 'cave', (adjective) 'hollow', and German hohl 'hollow', from an Indo-European root meaning 'cover, conceal'

hole in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of hole in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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