Hole

Pronunciation

• RP
• Rhymes: -əʊl
• US IPA: /hoÊŠl/, hoÊŠÉ«
• Rhymes: -oÊŠl
• Homophones: whole (depends on accent)

Origin

Middle English, from Old English hol 'orifice, hollow place', from Proto-Germanic *hulą (compare Middle Dutch hool, German Höhle, Old Norse holr, Walloon hol), noun form of Proto-Germanic *hulaz 'hollow'. More at hollow.

Full definition of hole

Noun

1. A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; an opening in or through a solid body, a fabric, etc.; a perforation; a rent; a fissure.
• Shakespearethe holes where eyes should be
• TennysonThe blind walls were full of chinks and holes.
• Bible, 2 Kings xii. 9The priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid.
2. An opening in a solid.There’s a hole in my bucket.
3. (golf) A subsurface standard-size hole, also called cup, hitting the ball into which is the object of play. Each hole, of which there are usually eighteen as the standard on a full course, is located on a prepared surface, called the green, of a particular type grass.
4. (golf) The part of a game in which a player attempts to hit the ball into one of the holes.I played 18 holes yesterday. The second hole today cost me three strokes over par.
5. (archaeology, slang) An excavation pit or trench.
6. (figuratively) A weakness, a flawI have found a hole in your argument.
• 2011, Fun (band) - We Are YoungBut between the drinks and subtle thingsThe holes in my apologies, you knowI’m trying hard to take it back
7. (informal) A container or receptacle.car hole; brain hole
8. (physics) In semiconductors, a lack of an electron in an occupied band behaving like a positively charged particle.
9. (computing) A security vulnerability in software which can be taken advantage of by an exploit.
10. (slang anatomy) An orifice, in particular the anus.
11. (informal, with “the”) Solitary confinement, a high-security prison cell often used as punishment.
12. (slang) An undesirable place to live or visit; a hovelHis apartment is a hole!
13. (baseball) The rear portion of the defensive team between the shortstop and the third baseman.The shortstop ranged deep into the hole to make the stop.
14. (chess) A square on the board, with some positional significance, that a player does not, and cannot in future, control with a friendly pawn.

Synonyms

• (solitary confinement) administrative segregation, AdSeg, block UK, cooler UK, hotbox, lockdown, pound, SCU, security housing unit, SHU, special handling unit

Derived terms

Verb

1. (transitive) To make holes in (an object or surface).
   Shrapnel holed the ship's hull.
2. (transitive, by extension) To destroy.
   She completely holed the argument.
3. To go or get into a hole.
4. (transitive) To cut, dig, or bore a hole or holes in.to hole a post for the insertion of rails or bars
5. (transitive) To drive into a hole, as an animal, or a billiard ball or golf ball.
   Woods holed a standard three foot putt

Derived terms

• holeable
• holer
• hole up

Anagrams

• OHLE