Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. Dictionary

   hole

   /həʊl/

   noun

   • 1. a hollow place in a solid body or surface: "the dog had dug a hole in the ground" Similar pitditchtrenchcavitycraterdepressionhollowwellboreholeexcavationshaftmineshaftdugoutcavecavernpotholechambergorgechasmcanyonravine
   • ▪ an aperture passing through something: "he had a hole in his sock" Similar openingaperturegapspaceorificeslotventoutletchinkbreachbreakcrackleakriftrupturepunctureperforationcutincisionsplitgashrentslitcleftcrevicefissurepeepholekeyholespyholeforamenarchaic:loophole
   • ▪ 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" Similar burrowlairdencovertearthsettdreyretreatsheltercave
   • ▪ a valley: "Seaton Hole"
   • ▪ a position from which an electron is absent, especially one regarded as a mobile carrier of positive charge in a semiconductor.
   • 2. a 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" Similar flawfaultdefectweaknessweak pointshortcominginconsistencydiscrepancyloopholeerrormistakefallacy
   • 3. an unpleasant place: informal "she had wasted a whole lifetime in this hole of a town" Similar hovelslumshackmessinformal:dumpdivepigstyjointtipOpposite palace
   • ▪ 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" Similar predicamentdiffict situationawkward situationmesscornertight cornerquandarydilemmamuddleemergencycrisisimbrogliodifficultytroubleplightdire straitsinformal:fixjambindspottight spotscrapepicklesticky situationhot waterdeep waterspot of bother

   verb

   • 1. make a hole or holes in: "a fuel tank was holed by the attack and a fire started"
   • 2. hit (the ball) into a hole: "George holed a six-iron shot from the fairway"

   Word Origin Old Englishhol (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’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. holey adjective

   Scrabble Points: 7

   • H

     4

   • O

     1

   • L

     1

   • E

     1

   Powered by Oxford Dictionaries

   More definitions, origin and scrabble points