Library / English Dictionary

HOLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An opening deliberately made in or through something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("hole" is a kind of...):

opening (a vacant or unobstructed space that is man-made)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hole"):

blowhole; vent; vent-hole; venthole (a hole for the escape of gas or air)

thumbhole (the hole in a woodwind that is closed and opened with the thumb)

sound hole (a hole in a soundboard (as of a violin) designed to resonate with the tones)

puncture (a small hole made by a sharp object)

post hole; posthole (a hole dug in the ground to hold a fence post)

plughole (a hole into which a plug fits (especially a hole where water drains away))

perforation (a line of small holes for tearing at a particular place)

eyehole; peephole; spyhole (a hole (in a door or an oven etc) through which you can peep)

nail hole (a hole left after a nail is removed)

mouth hole (a hole (as in a ski mask) for the mouth)

mortice; mortise (a square hole made to receive a tenon and so to form a joint)

manhole (a hole (usually with a flush cover) through which a person can gain access to an underground structure)

lubber's hole (hole in a platform on a mast through which a sailor can climb without going out on the shrouds)

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)

ear hole (a hole (as in a helmet) for sound to reach the ears)

eye (a small hole or loop (as in a needle))

eyehole; eyelet (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)

Derivation:

hole (make holes in)

Sense 2

Meaning:

One playing period (from tee to green) on a golf course

Example:

he played 18 holes

Synonyms:

golf hole; hole

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("hole" is a kind of...):

period of play; play; playing period ((in games or plays or other performances) the time during which play proceeds)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hole"):

dogleg (a golf hole with a sharp angle in the fairway)

Holonyms ("hole" is a part of...):

golf course; links course (course consisting of a large landscaped area for playing golf)

Derivation:

hole (hit the ball into the hole)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Informal terms for the mouth

Synonyms:

cakehole; gob; hole; maw; trap; yap

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("hole" is a kind of...):

mouth; oral cavity; oral fissure; rima oris (the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An opening into or through something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("hole" is a kind of...):

gap; opening (an open or empty space in or between things)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hole"):

knothole (a hole in a board where a knot came out)

rathole (a hole (as in the wall of a building) made by rats)

perforation (a hole made in something)

ozone hole (an area of the ozone layer (near the poles) that is seasonally depleted of ozone)

leak (an accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape)

cranny (a small opening or crevice (especially in a rock face or wall))

bullet hole (a hole made by a bullet passing through it)

bolt-hole (a hole through which an animal may bolt when pursued into its burrow or den)

aperture (a natural opening in something)

Derivation:

hole (make holes in)

holey (allowing passage in and out)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A depression hollowed out of solid matter

Synonyms:

hole; hollow

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("hole" is a kind of...):

depression; natural depression (a sunken or depressed geological formation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hole"):

burrow; tunnel (a hole made by an animal, usually for shelter)

gopher hole (a hole in the ground made by gophers)

kettle; kettle hole ((geology) a hollow (typically filled by a lake) that results from the melting of a mass of ice trapped in glacial deposits)

cavity; pit (a sizeable hole (usually in the ground))

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)

Sense 6

Meaning:

An unoccupied space

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("hole" is a kind of...):

space (an empty area (usually bounded in some way between things))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hole"):

pore (any tiny hole admitting passage of a liquid (fluid or gas))

Sense 7

Meaning:

Informal terms for a difficult situation

Example:

he made a muddle of his marriage

Synonyms:

fix; hole; jam; kettle of fish; mess; muddle; pickle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("hole" is a kind of...):

difficulty (a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hole"):

dog's breakfast; dog's dinner (a poor job; a mess)

Sense 8

Meaning:

A fault

Example:

he shot holes in my argument

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("hole" is a kind of...):

defect; fault; flaw (an imperfection in an object or machine)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make holes in

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "hole" is one way to...):

core out; hollow; hollow out (remove the interior of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

hole (an opening deliberately made in or through something)

hole (an opening into or through something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Hit the ball into the hole

Synonyms:

hole; hole out

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "hole" is one way to...):

hit (cause to move by striking)

Domain category:

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)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

hole (one playing period (from tee to green) on a golf course)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The black hole was already billions of times the mass of our sun when our universe was only a tenth of its present age of 13.8 billion years.

(The Most Luminous Galaxy in Universe, NASA)

Clearly, only one could fit into the hole, and that one was Brunton.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It may describe a body cavity (such as the space within the abdomen) or a hole in a tooth caused by decay.

(Body Cavity, NCI Dictionary)

The presence of an acquired hole in the heart.

(Cardiac Perforation, NCI Thesaurus/ACC)

The tumor appears to have open spaces or small holes inside.

(Cribriform, NCI Dictionary)

Then we have stopped all the holes.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A congenital or acquired defect characterized by the presence of a hole in or adjacent to the iris.

(Coloboma of the Iris, NCI Thesaurus)

A congenital or acquired defect characterized by the presence of a hole in the retina.

(Coloboma of the Retina, NCI Thesaurus)

Iseganan hydrochloride kills certain bacteria, fungi, and viruses by making holes in their outer membranes and causing them to burst.

(Iseganan hydrochloride, NCI Dictionary)

I saw a square hole, through which doubtless the host may peep when he is not too sure of those who knock.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)