hole

noun

• 1a hollow place in a solid body or surface:the dog had dug a hole in the ground
• 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.
• one of the sections of a golf course or the divisions of play in a game of golf:Stephen lost the first three holes to Eric
• an animal’s burrow: a fox’s hole
• [in place names] a valley:Seaton Hole
• Physics a position from which an electron is absent, especially one regarded as a mobile carrier of positive charge in a semiconductor.

• 2a place or position that needs to be filled because someone or something is no longer there:she is missed terribly and her death has left a hole in all our lives
• a shortcoming, weakness, or flaw in a plan, argument, etc.:intriguing as it sounds, the theory is full of holes

• 3 informal an unpleasant place:she had wasted a whole lifetime in this hole of a town
• an awkward situation:the team are in a bit of a hole and it’s a case of seeing if they can dig themselves out

verb

• 1make a hole or holes in:a fuel tank was holed by the attack and a fire started

• 2 Golf hit (the ball) into a hole:George holed a six-iron shot from the fairway [no object]:he holed out for a birdie