/ həʊl; NAmE hoʊl/ noun , verb
■ noun
HOLLOW SPACE
1.
[ C ] a hollow space in sth solid or in the surface of sth :
He dug a deep hole in the garden.
The bomb blew a huge hole in the ground.
Water had collected in the holes in the road.
OPENING
2.
[ C ] a space or opening that goes all the way through sth :
to drill / bore / punch / kick a hole in sth
There were holes in the knees of his trousers.
The children climbed through a hole in the fence.
a bullet hole
the hole in the ozone layer
—see also ozone hole
ANIMAL'S HOME
3.
[ C ] the home of a small animal :
a rabbit / mouse, etc. hole
—see also bolt-hole
—compare foxhole , pigeonhole
UNPLEASANT PLACE
4.
[ C , usually sing. ] ( informal , disapproving ) an unpleasant place to live or be in
SYN dump :
I am not going to bring up my child in this hole.
—see also hellhole
IN GOLF
5.
[ C ] a hollow in the ground that you must get the ball into; one of the sections of a golf course with the tee at the beginning and the hole at the end :
The ball rolled into the hole and she had won.
an eighteen-hole golf course
He liked to play a few holes after work.
She won the first hole.
—picture at golf
FAULT / WEAKNESS
6.
[ C , usually pl. ] a fault or weakness in sth such as a plan, law or story :
He was found not guilty because of holes in the prosecution case.
I don't believe what she says—her story is full of holes.
—see also loophole
EMPTY PLACE / POSITION
7.
[ sing. ] a place or position that needs to be filled because sb/sth is no longer there :
After his wife left, there was a gaping hole in his life.
Buying the new equipment left a big hole in the company's finances.
HELP NOTE : There are many other compounds ending in hole . You will find them at their place in the alphabet.
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IDIOMS
- in a hole
- in the hole
- make a hole in sth
—more at ace noun , burn verb , dig verb , pick verb
■ verb
MAKE A HOLE
1.
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] to make a hole or holes in sth, especially a boat or ship
IN GOLF
2.
hole (out) to hit a golf ball into the hole :
[ vn ]
She holed a 25 foot putt.
[ v ]
She holed out from 25 feet.
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PHRASAL VERBS
- hole up | be holed up
••
WORD 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.