hole

hole (h

1. A hollowed place in something solid; a cavity or pit: dug a hole in the ground with a shovel.

a. An opening or perforation: a hole in the clouds; had a hole in the elbow of my sweater.

b. Sports An opening in a defensive formation, such as the area of a baseball infield between two adjacent fielders.

c. A fault or flaw: There are holes in your argument.

3. A deep place in a body of water.

4. An animal's hollowed-out habitation, such as a burrow.

5. An ugly, squalid, or depressing dwelling.

6. A deep or isolated place of confinement; a dungeon.

7. An awkward situation; a predicament.

8. Sports

a. The small pit lined with a cup into which a golf ball must be hit.

b. One of the divisions of a golf course, from tee to cup.

9. Physics A vacant position in a crystal left by the absence of an electron, especially a position in a semiconductor that acts as a carrier of positive electric charge. Also called electron hole.

v. holed, hol·ing, holes

v.tr.

1. To put a hole in.

2. To put or propel into a hole.

v.intr.

To make a hole in something.

Phrasal Verbs:

hole out Sports

To hit a golf ball into the hole.

hole up

1. To hibernate in or as if in a hole.

2. Informal To take refuge in or as if in a hideout.

Idiom:

in the hole

1. Having a score below zero.

2. In debt.

3. At a disadvantage.

[Middle English, from Old English hol; see kel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

hole

Noun

1. an area hollowed out in a solid

2. an opening in or through something

3. an animal's burrow

4. Informal a fault or error: this points to a very big hole in parliamentary security

5. pick holes in to point out faults in

6. Informal an unattractive town or other place

7. in a hole Slang in a difficult and embarrassing situation

8. (on a golf course) any one of the divisions of a course (usually 18) represented by the distance between the tee and the sunken cup on the green into which the ball is to be played

9. make a hole in Informal to use a great amount of (one's money or food supply)

Verb

[holing, holed]

1. to make a hole or holes in (something)

2. to hit (a golf ball) into a hole [Old English hol]

holey adj

hole (h

A gap, usually the valence band of an insulator or semiconductor, that would normally be filled with one electron. If an electron accelerated by a voltage moves into a gap, it leaves a gap behind it, and in this way the hole itself appears to move through the substance. Even though holes are in fact the absence of a negatively charged particle (an electron), they can be treated theoretically as positively charged particles, whose motion gives rise to electric current.

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	hole - an opening into or through something aperture - a natural opening in something bolt-hole - a hole through which an animal may bolt when pursued into its burrow or den bullet hole - a hole made by a bullet passing through it cranny - a small opening or crevice (especially in a rock face or wall) leak - an accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape; "one of the tires developed a leak" opening, gap - an open or empty space in or between things; "there was a small opening between the trees"; "the explosion made a gap in the wall" ozone hole - an area of the ozone layer (near the poles) that is seasonally depleted of ozone perforation - a hole made in something; "a perforation of the eardrum" rathole - a hole (as in the wall of a building) made by rats knothole - a hole in a board where a knot came out
	2.	hole - an opening deliberately made in or through something air hole - a hole that allows the passage of air armhole - a hole through which you put your arm and where a sleeve can be attached bunghole - a hole in a barrel or cask; used to fill or empty it button hole, buttonhole - a hole through which buttons are pushed countersink - a hole (usually in wood) with the top part enlarged so that a screw or bolt will fit into it and lie below the surface cup - the hole (or metal container in the hole) on a golf green; "he swore as the ball rimmed the cup and rolled away"; "put the flag back in the cup" ear hole - a hole (as in a helmet) for sound to reach the ears eye - a small hole or loop (as in a needle); "the thread wouldn't go through the eye" eyelet, eyehole - a small hole (usually round and finished around the edges) in cloth or leather for the passage of a cord or hook or bar finger hole - a hole for inserting a finger finger hole - one of a series of holes in a woodwind instrument; pitch changes when a finger covers it hawse, hawsehole, hawsepipe - the hole that an anchor rope passes through keyhole - the hole where a key is inserted loophole - a small hole in a fortified wall; for observation or discharging weapons lubber's hole - hole in a platform on a mast through which a sailor can climb without going out on the shrouds manhole - a hole (usually with a flush cover) through which a person can gain access to an underground structure mortice, mortise - a square hole made to receive a tenon and so to form a joint mouth hole - a hole (as in a ski mask) for the mouth nail hole - a hole left after a nail is removed opening - a vacant or unobstructed space that is man-made; "they left a small opening for the cat at the bottom of the door" eyehole, peephole, spyhole - a hole (in a door or an oven etc) through which you can peep perforation - a line of small holes for tearing at a particular place plughole - a hole into which a plug fits (especially a hole where water drains away) post hole, posthole - a hole dug in the ground to hold a fence post puncture - a small hole made by a sharp object sound hole - a hole in a soundboard (as of a violin) designed to resonate with the tones thumbhole - the hole in a woodwind that is closed and opened with the thumb vent, vent-hole, venthole, blowhole - a hole for the escape of gas or air
	3.	hole - one playing period (from tee to green) on a golf course; "he played 18 holes" golf hole dogleg - a golf hole with a sharp angle in the fairway golf course, links course - course consisting of a large landscaped area for playing golf period of play, playing period, play - (in games or plays or other performances) the time during which play proceeds; "rain stopped play in the 4th inning"
	4.	hole - an unoccupied space space - an empty area (usually bounded in some way between things); "the architect left space in front of the building"; "they stopped at an open space in the jungle"; "the space between his teeth" pore - any tiny hole admitting passage of a liquid (fluid or gas)
	5.	hole - a depression hollowed out of solid matter hollow burrow, tunnel - a hole made by an animal, usually for shelter gopher hole - a hole in the ground made by gophers kettle hole, kettle - (geology) a hollow (typically filled by a lake) that results from the melting of a mass of ice trapped in glacial deposits natural depression, depression - a sunken or depressed geological formation cavity, pit - a sizeable hole (usually in the ground); "they dug a pit to bury the body" chuckhole, pothole - a pit or hole produced by wear or weathering (especially in a road surface) rabbit burrow, rabbit hole - a hole in the ground as a nest made by wild rabbits wormhole - hole made by a burrowing worm
	6.	hole - a fault; "he shot holes in my argument" flaw, fault, defect - an imperfection in an object or machine; "a flaw caused the crystal to shatter"; "if there are any defects you should send it back to the manufacturer"
	7.	hole - informal terms for a difficult situation; "he got into a terrible fix"; "he made a muddle of his marriage" kettle of fish, fix, jam, mess, muddle, pickle difficulty - a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome; "grappling with financial difficulties" dog's breakfast, dog's dinner - a poor job; a mess; "they made a real dog's breakfast of that job"
	8.	hole - informal terms for the mouth cakehole, maw, yap, gob, trap mouth, oral cavity, oral fissure, rima oris - the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge; "he stuffed his mouth with candy"
Verb	1.	hole - hit the ball into the hole hole out golf, golf game - a game played on a large open course with 9 or 18 holes; the object is use as few strokes as possible in playing all the holes hit - cause to move by striking; "hit a ball"
	2.	hole - make holes in core out, hollow out, hollow - remove the interior of; "hollow out a tree trunk"

hole

noun 1. cavity, depression, pit, hollow, pocket, chamber, cave, shaft, cavern, excavation

noun 2. opening, split, crack, break, tear, gap, rent, breach, outlet, vent, puncture, aperture, fissure, orifice, perforation

noun 3. burrow, nest, den, earth, shelter, retreat, covert, lair

noun 4. fault, error, flaw, defect, loophole, discrepancy, inconsistency, fallacy

noun 5. (Informal) hovel, dump (informal) dive (slang) slum, joint (slang)

noun 6. (Informal) predicament, spot (informal) fix (informal) mess, jam (informal) dilemma, scrape (informal) tangle, hot water (informal) quandary, tight spot, imbroglio

hole up hide, shelter, take refuge, go into hiding, take cover, go to earth

Translations