hole

1 of 2

noun

1
a
: an opening through something : perforation
The coat has a hole in it.
a bullet hole
b
: an area where something is missing
His mother's death left a hole in his life.
: gap: such as
(1)
: a serious discrepancy : flaw, weakness
some holes in your logic
(2)
: an opening in a defensive formation
a running back's ability to find holes in the defensive line
especially : the area of a baseball field between the positions of shortstop and third baseman
(3)
: a defect in a crystal (as of a semiconductor) that is due to an electron's having left its normal position in one of the crystal bonds and that is equivalent in many respects to a positively charged particle
2
: a hollowed-out place
a hole in an apple
: such as
a
: a cave, pit, or well in the ground
dug a large hole with a steam shovel
b
: burrow
a rabbit hole
c
: an unusually deep place in a body of water (such as a river)
3
a
: a wretched or dreary place
How could anyone live in such a hole?
b
: a prison cell especially for solitary confinement
threw him in the hole for two days
4
a
golf : a shallow cylindrical hole or hollowed-out place in the putting green of a golf course into which the ball is played
b
: a part of the golf course from tee (see tee entry 2 sense 2) to putting green
just beginning play on the third hole
also : the play on such a hole as a unit of scoring
won the hole by two strokes
5
a
: an awkward position or circumstance : fix
got the rebels out of a hole at the battleKenneth Roberts
b
: a position of owing or losing money
$10 million in the hole
raising money to get out of the hole

hole

2 of 2

verb

holed; holing

transitive verb

1
: to make an opening through or a hollowed-out place in (as by cutting, digging, boring, or shooting at) : to make a hole (see hole entry 1) in
The ship was holed along the waterline by enemy fire.
2
: to drive or hit into a hole
hole a putt
The dogs holed the fox.

intransitive verb

: to make an opening through or a hollowed-out place in something : to make a hole in something
Phrases
in the hole
1
: having a score below zero
2
: at a disadvantage

Examples of hole in a Sentence

Noun I have a hole in my sock. He fixed the hole in the roof. a mouse hole in the wall The dog dug a deep hole. Her putt rolled right into the hole. She made a birdie on the seventh hole. The course has 18 holes. Verb She holed a long putt for a birdie. holed the target with a round of shots
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Natural Filters: Look for natural filters such as trees with dense foliage or a colander with small holes. The Arizona Republic, 8 Mar. 2024 This would allow for the topmost layer to act as a safety guard—and for the spotted lanternfly to step through the small holes of the upper mesh and make contact with the inner mesh. Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024 Plus, there’s no hole in the bath toy to collect mold and mildew; simply wipe with a damp cloth to keep your kiddo’s new friend clean. Maya Polton, Parents, 8 Mar. 2024 The militants used drones to drop explosives onto the observation towers, blew holes in the border fence with explosives and bulldozers to smash open gaps large enough to allow vehicles to roll through. John Bacon, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024 One metallurgical drill hole (CAL22-027) was made by twinning at 25m distance a prior RC drill hole. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Mar. 2024 Such was the power of his goal that the strike actually broke the net, leaving a hole behind between post and net. Ben Morse, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 The Dolphins are releasing inside linebacker Jerome Baker in a cost-cutting move that will save the team millions in cap space but will create another hole to fill this offseason. Daniel Oyefusi, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024 The earliest tee time offered will be at 9 a.m. All 18 holes will be open. Drew Dawson, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024
Verb
But her decision to limit her studio output, as the rare pop star content to hole away until their next full-length statement is ready for unveiling, built enormous anticipation (and expectation) for its follow-up. Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 12 Dec. 2023 Paige doesn’t play because of a broken bone in his right hand. 2016 — Mackenzie Hughes holes an 18-foot par putt from off the green to win the RSM Classic and become the first rookie in 20 years to go wire-to-wire for his first PGA Tour victory. Iliana Limón Romero, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2023 The chair can adapt to a range of ages and sizes: babies can be strapped in using the harness and toddlers can stand using the optional leg holes exersaucer-style. Mandy Harris, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2023 The once-faint murmurs of sirens wailing, clanging horns, and busy cars outside of Aman New York, the city’s swanky new Fifth Avenue luxury haven, are now reverberating through the penthouse suite master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian is holed into. Nerisha Penrose, ELLE, 7 Sep. 2023 Lee hit wedge to 7 feet and holed the par putt to join Hull at 16-under 272 and force a playoff. Associated Press, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2023 The limited-time Fantasy Feast ($249.99) feeds up to 12 guests with six dozen jumbo chicken wings, three racks of St. Louis-style ribs, sides, garlic bread, and two dozen cinnamon sugar donut holes. Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2023 And because making the vent holes smaller threw off the HVAC system, that then had to be reconfigured. Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2023 Other shows to recently get memory holed by Disney+ include the Willow series, Earth to Ned, and the 2020 version of Black Beauty. Vulture, 5 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hole.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English hole, holle, going back to Old English hol "hollow place, cave, pit," noun derivative from neuter of hol "hollow, deeply concave, sunken," going back to Germanic *hula- (whence also Old Saxon & Old High German hol "hollow," Old Norse holr), probably going back to Indo-European *ḱuH-ló- (with assumed shortening of pretonic vowel), zero-grade derivative of a base *ḱeu̯H- "hollow," whence, with varying ablaut and suffixation, Greek koîlos, kóïlos "hollow, deep" (from *ḱou̯H-ilo-), Latin cavus "hollow, concave" (from *ḱou̯H-o-), Middle Irish cúa "hollow space, cavity," Middle Welsh ceu "hollow, empty" (both from *ḱou̯H-i̯o-?), Old Church Slavic sui "vain, empty" (from *ḱou̯H-i̯o-)

Verb

Middle English holen, going back to Old English holian, derivative of hol hole entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hole was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near hole

Cite this Entry

“Hole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hole. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hole

noun
ˈhōl
1
: an opening into or through a thing
2
a
: a hollow place (as a pit or cave)
b
: a deep place in a body of water
trout holes
3
: an underground habitation : burrow
4
: flaw, fault
5
a
: the shallow cup into which the ball is played in golf
b
: a part of a golf course from the tee to the putting green
6
: a shabby or dingy place
7
: an awkward position : fix
hole verb
holey
ˈhō-lē
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on hole

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