About

hole

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 [həʊl]

1. an area hollowed out in a solid

2. an opening made in or through something

3. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Zoology) an animal’s hiding place or burrow

4. Informal an unattractive place, such as a town or a dwelling

5. Informal a cell or dungeon

6. US informal a small anchorage

7. a fault (esp in the phrase pick holes in)

8. Slang a difficult and embarrassing situation

9. (Group Games / Games, other than specified) the cavity in various games into which the ball must be thrust

10. (Individual Sports & Recreations) (on a golf course)

a. the cup on each of the greens

b. each of the divisions of a course (usually 18) represented by the distance between the tee and a green

c. the score made in striking the ball from the tee into the hole

11. (Physics / General Physics) Physics

a. a vacancy in a nearly full band of quantum states of electrons in a semiconductor or an insulator. Under the action of an electric field holes behave as carriers of positive charge

b. (as modifier) hole current

c. a vacancy in the nearly full continuum of quantum states of negative energy of fermions. A hole appears as the antiparticle of the fermion

in holes so worn as to be full of holes his socks were in holes

in the hole Chiefly US

a. (Economics, Accounting & Finance / Banking & Finance) in debt

b. (Group Games / Card Games) (of a card, the hole card, in stud poker) dealt face down in the first round

make a hole in to consume or use a great amount of (food, drink, money, etc.) to make a hole in a bottle of brandy

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

2. (Individual Sports & Recreations) (when intr, often foll by out) Golf to hit (the ball) into the hole

[Old English hol; related to Gothic hulundi, German Höhle, Old Norse hylr pool, Latin caulis hollow stem; see hollow]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

hole

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

Noun1.
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”

Verb1.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 He took a shovel, dug a hole, and buried his possessions.

2. opening, split, crack, break, tear, gap, rent, breach, outlet, vent, puncture, aperture, fissure, orifice, perforation They got in through a hole in the wall. kids with holes in the knees of their jeans

3. burrow, nest, den, earth, shelter, retreat, covert, lair a rabbit hole

4. fault, error, flaw, defect, loophole, discrepancy, inconsistency, fallacy There were some holes in that theory.

5. (Informal) hovel, dump (informal), dive (slang), slum, joint (slang) Why don’t you leave this awful hole and come to live with me?

6. (Informal) predicament, spot (informal), fix (informal), mess, jam (informal), dilemma, scrape (informal), tangle, hot water(informal), quandary, tight spot, imbroglio He admitted that the government was in ‘a dreadful hole’.

hole up hide, shelter, take refuge, go into hiding, take cover, go to earth holing up in his Paris flat with the phone off the hook

pick holes in something criticize, knock (informal), rubbish (informal), put down, run down, slate (informal), slag (off) (slang), denigrate,disprove, disparage, diss (slang, chiefly U.S.), find fault with, bad-mouth (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), flame (informal), niggle at, cavil at,pull to pieces, asperse He then goes on to pick holes in the article.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

hole

n hole [həul]

1 an opening or gap in or through something a hole in the fence; holes in my socks.

2 a hollow in something solid a hole in my tooth; Many animals live in holes in the ground.

3 (in golf) (the point scored by the player who takes the fewest strokes to hit his ball over) any one of the usually eighteen sections of the golf course between the tees and the holes in the middle of the greens He won by two holes; We played nine holes.

1 to make a hole in The ship was badly holed when it hit the rock.

2 to hit (a ball etc) into a hole The golfer holed his ball from twelve metres away.

v hole out

to hit a golfball into a hole.