- 1[countable] a hollow space in something solid or in the surface of something He dug a deep hole in the garden. The bomb blew a huge hole in the ground. Water had collected in the holes in the road. opening
- 2[countable] a space or opening that goes all the way through something to drill/bore/punch/kick a hole in something There were holes in the knees of his pants. The children climbed through a hole in the fence. a bullet hole the hole in the ozone layer see ozone hole
- 3[countable] the home of a small animal a rabbit/mouse, etc. hole compare foxhole, pigeonhole unpleasant place
- 4[countable, usually singular] (informal) (disapproving) an unpleasant place to live or be in synonym dump I am not going to bring up my child in this hole. see hellhole in golf
- 5[countable] a hollow in the ground that you must get the ball into; one of the sections of a golf course with the tee at the beginning and the hole at the end The ball rolled into the hole and she had won. an eighteen-hole golf course He liked to play a few holes after work. She won the first hole. fault/weakness
- 6[countable, usually plural] a fault or weakness in something such as a plan, law, or story He was found not guilty because of holes in the prosecution case. I don't believe what she says—her story is full of holes. see loophole empty place/position
- 7[singular] a place or position that needs to be filled because someone or something is no longer there After his wife left, there was a gaping hole in his life. Buying the new equipment left a big hole in the company's finances. There are many other compounds ending in hole. You will find them at their place in the alphabet. Idioms
hollow space
a secret advantage, for example a piece of information or a skill, that you are ready to use if you need to
if money burns a hole in your pocket, you want to spend it as soon as you have it
to get yourself into a bad situation that will be very difficult to get out of
in a difficult situation He had gotten himself into a hole and it was going to be difficult to get out of it.
owing money synonym in debt We start the current fiscal year $30 million in the hole.
to use up a large amount of something that you have, especially money College tuition can make a big hole in your savings.
to have no need or desire for something
to find the weak points in something such as a plan, suggestion, etc. It was easy to pick holes in his arguments.
Check pronunciation: hole