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hole

(hōl)

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 an atom left by the absence of a valence 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 the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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