INDEX:
1. a hole that goes through something
2. a hole in the ground or in the surface of something
3. a place on a surface that is lower than the rest
4. a long narrow hole across the surface of something
5. a hole in something that has been damaged, allowing water, air etc to escape
6. words for describing something that has lots of holes in it
7. to make a hole in the ground or surface of something
8. to make a hole through something
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ CUT
↑ SPACE
↑ DIG
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1. a hole that goes through something
▷ hole /həʊl/ [countable noun]
▪ The sheet was ancient and full of holes.
▪ She stuck her finger through the hole.
hole in
▪ Troy looked through a hole in the fence at the garden next door.
▪ A shaft of light came in through a hole in the corrugated iron roof.
something has a hole in it
▪ I can’t wear my green shirt -- it has a hole in it.
gaping hole
a big hole
▪ They stared at the gaping hole in the wall.
▷ gap /gæp/ [countable noun]
an empty space in the middle of something such as a wall or fence, especially because part of it is missing or broken :
gap in
▪ The gate was locked but we managed to get through a gap in the fence.
gap under
▪ The light was coming through a tiny gap under the door.
gap between
▪ Sharon has a gap between her two front teeth.
▷ opening /ˈəʊp ə nɪŋ/ [countable noun]
a hole that something can pass through or that you can see through, especially one which is at the entrance or top of something :
▪ Bees come and go through a small opening at the bottom of the hive.
▪ We zipped up the opening of the tent to stop the mosquitoes getting in.
▷ aperture /ˈæpəʳtʃəʳ/ [countable noun]
a hole, especially one that allows light to pass through - use this especially in scientific and technical contexts :
▪ The telescope has an aperture of 2.4 metres.
2. a hole in the ground or in the surface of something
▷ hole /həʊl/ [countable noun]
▪ The old mineshaft had left a deep hole, dangerous to both people and livestock.
hole in
▪ The aim is to get the ball in a hole in the ground.
make a hole (in something)
▪ We made a small hole in the earth, just deep enough to cover the roots of the plant.
▪ Make a hole in the bottom of each plant pot to let the water drain out.
dig a hole
▪ A fox had dug a hole under our garden fence.
▪ Construction workers have to dig a thousand foot hole before work can start on the tunnel.
▷ crater /ˈkreɪtəʳ/ [countable noun]
a big hole in the surface of something, especially the ground, that is caused by an explosion or a large falling object :
▪ The meteor left a crater over five miles wide.
crater in
▪ When the bomb exploded it left a huge crater in the ground.
▷ pothole /ˈpɒthəʊlǁˈpɑːt-/ [countable noun]
a hole in the surface of a road that makes driving difficult or dangerous :
▪ He rode his bike over an enormous pothole.
▪ It is going to cost the city at least $500,000 to patch potholes created by winter rains.
▷ pit /pɪt/ [countable noun]
a large wide hole in the ground, especially one that is used for a particular purpose such as burying things :
▪ They found a large pit where all the dead bodies had been thrown.
▪ We dug a pit a yard deep in the soil.
▷ abyss /əˈbɪs/ [countable noun]
an extremely deep empty space, seen from a very high point such as the edge of a mountain - used especially in literature :
▪ Matthew found himself standing at the edge of a deep abyss.
▷ chasm /ˈkæz ə m/ [countable noun]
a very deep space between two high areas of rock, especially one that is dangerous :
▪ An unsteady-looking rope bridge was the only way to get across the chasm.
▪ The landscape was a series of mountains, chasms, canyons and valleys.
3. a place on a surface that is lower than the rest
▷ dip /dɪp/ [countable noun]
a place where the surface of the ground goes down suddenly :
dip in
▪ The boy fell off his bicycle when he went over a dip in the road too fast.
▷ indentation /ˌɪndenˈteɪʃ ə n/ [countable noun]
a place or area in a hard surface that is slightly lower than the rest of the surface, especially caused by something pressing hard on it :
indentation in
▪ The X-rays showed a slight indentation in the man’s skull.
▪ She gently made an indentation in the centre of each cookie.
▷ depression /dɪˈpreʃ ə n/ [countable noun]
an area, especially of the ground, that is slightly lower than the area around it, caused by something heavy pressing on it :
depression in
▪ You could see a depression in the ground where the helicopter had landed.
▪ The depressions in the sand are made by turtles, that come up here to lay their eggs.
▷ dent /dent/ [countable noun]
a place in the surface of something, especially metal, that is slightly lower because something has hit it accidentally :
▪ The picture frame came with scratches, dents and marks that make it look old.
dent in
▪ Emma backed into a tree, leaving a dent in the car’s rear bumper.
4. a long narrow hole across the surface of something
▷ crack /kræk/ [countable noun]
a long, narrow line across the surface of a hard substance such as glass or stone where it has been damaged :
crack in
▪ This cup has a crack in it.
▪ The crack in the bedroom wall seems to be widening.
▷ split /splɪt/ [countable noun] British
a long straight hole caused when a material such as plastic or cloth tears :
▪ We suddenly noticed there was a split in the side of the tent.
▷ slit /slɪt/ [countable noun]
a long, narrow hole, especially one that you can see through or put things through :
▪ Tania’s skirt has a long slit up the back.
▪ I covered my eyes with my hands, watching through the slits between my fingers.
▷ slot /slɒtǁslɑːt/ [countable noun]
a straight narrow hole, for example on a container, made so that a particular type or size of object can fit through it :
▪ I dropped a quarter in the slot and dialed the number.
▪ The message was placed in every employee’s mail slot.
5. a hole in something that has been damaged, allowing water, air etc to escape
▷ hole /həʊl/ [countable noun]
hole in
▪ Water trickled in through the hole in the roof.
▪ There are holes in the ozone layer above Antarctica.
▷ leak /liːk/ [countable noun]
a hole where something has been damaged or broken that allows a gas or liquid to pass through when it should not :
▪ The water pressure’s right down - there must be a leak in the pipe.
spring a leak
suddenly get a leak
▪ The boat had sprung a leak and it was sinking fast.
▷ puncture /ˈpʌŋktʃəʳ/ [countable noun] British
a small hole in a tyre through which air escapes :
▪ I could hear the hissing sound of air escaping from the puncture.
slow puncture
a puncture from which air escapes slowly
▪ The tyre’s gone flat again -- I think we’ve got a slow puncture.
6. words for describing something that has lots of holes in it
▷ be full of holes /biː ˌfʊl əv ˈhəʊlz/ [verb phrase]
▪ Parker’s socks were so full of holes that his toes peeked through.
▪ The roof was full of holes, all of which sprouted grass and moss.
▷ riddled with holes /ˌrɪdld wɪð ˈhəʊlz/ [adjective phrase]
full of a great many small holes, especially in a surface :
▪ The old table was riddled with holes.
▪ The ship returned from the war-zone riddled with bullet holes.
▷ perforated /ˈpɜːʳfəreɪtɪd, ˈpɜːʳfəreɪtəd/ [adjective]
having a lot of small holes arranged in a regular pattern that has been made by a machine for a particular purpose :
▪ They put the insect into a tin with a perforated lid.
▪ Tear along the perforated line and return the bottom part of the form.
▷ porous /ˈpɔːrəs/ [adjective]
a substance such as rock or soil or a surface that is porous allows liquid or gas to pass through it :
▪ If a garage has a porous floor, it can become extremely damp.
▪ Plants in containers made of porous material, must be watered more often than those in plastic pots.
▷ leaky /ˈliːki/ [adjective usually before noun]
a leaky roof, pipe etc is damaged so that it has a hole or holes in it that water comes through :
▪ The house had a leaky roof.
▪ There was a pool of water in the corner where water was dripping from a leaky pipe.
7. to make a hole in the ground or surface of something
▷ hollow out /ˌhɒləʊ ˈaʊtǁˌhɑː-/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to make a space by removing the inside part of something :
hollow out something/hollow something out
▪ Carefully hollow out the pineapple and then fill it with the ice-cream.
▷ dig out /ˌdɪg ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb] British
to make a hole in the ground using a tool that is made for digging :
▪ To plant the tree you need to dig out a hole about 20 cm wide and 30 cm deep.
▪ The workmen were already digging out the foundations for the building.
▷ gouge /gaʊdʒ/ []
to make a deep cut in a surface, using something sharp, especially in order to remove something :
▪ The blade gouged a deep wound in her leg.
gouge out something/gouge something out
remove something by violently cutting a hole
▪ In the play he tries to gouge out his own eyes.
▷ prick /prɪk/ [transitive verb]
to make a very small hole in something, especially accidentally, using something pointed such as a pin :
▪ A small bead of blood formed where she had pricked her finger.
▪ Prick the potatoes before baking them.
▷ drill /drɪl/ [intransitive verb]
to make a narrow hole in something using a tool that turns round and round very quickly :
▪ I heard the dentist start drilling, but I couldn’t feel anything.
drill for oil/water/gas etc
▪ Oil companies still drill for oil off Santa Barbara.
drill into
▪ It sounds like someone’s drilling into the wall.
drilling [adjective]
▪ The oil engineers have already moved their drilling equipment into the area.
▷ bore /bɔːʳ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to make a hole in a hard surface such as rock or the ground using a lot of pressure, especially in order to find or remove minerals, coal etc :
▪ The mining company bored a 5000 foot hole.
▪ The machine they used to bore the tunnel is the size of a two storey house.
bore into/through
▪ They had to bore through solid rock.
▷ dent /dent/ [transitive verb]
to accidentally hit the surface of something, especially something metal, so that part of the surface is bent or slightly lower than the rest :
▪ He accidentally dented the garage door, trying to reverse in.
dented [adjective]
▪ In the market I bought a beautiful but badly dented silver bowl.
8. to make a hole through something
▷ make a hole in /ˌmeɪk ə ˈhəʊl ɪn/ [verb phrase]
▪ Make a hole in the bottom of the plant pot to allow the water to drain out.
▪ Make a hole in the surface of the pie before you put it in the oven.
▷ pierce /pɪəʳs/ [transitive verb]
to make a small hole through something using something long and sharp :
▪ She pierced the lid of the can and poured the milk into a saucepan.
▪ The arrow pierced his heart.
have your ears/nose/navel etc pierced
have holes made in them so that you can wear jewellery
▪ Shelley had her ears pierced when she was a teenager.
▷ puncture /ˈpʌŋktʃəʳ/ [transitive verb]
to damage something by making a hole through which air escapes :
▪ The doctor was worried that the broken rib might puncture the woman’s lung.
punctured [adjective]
▪ There was an old punctured football lying between the goal-posts.
▷ punch /pʌntʃ/ [transitive verb]
to make a hole through paper or material with a quick strong movement using a special tool :
▪ The conductor walked through the train, punching everyone’s ticket.
punch a hole in something
▪ I punched holes in the papers and filed them away in a binder.
▪ The shoemaker was threading stitches through tiny holes he had punched in the leather.
▷ drill a hole /ˌdrɪl ə ˈhəʊl/ [verb phrase]
to make a small hole in something using a tool that turns around and around very quickly :
drill a hole in
▪ I drilled two holes in the shelf and attached it to the wall.
▪ We drilled several small holes in the lid of the jar.