hole
n
1 an area hollowed out in a solid
2 an opening made in or through something
3 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 (U.S.)
informal a small anchorage
7 a fault (esp. in the phrase pick holes in)
8 Slang a difficult and embarrassing situation
9 the cavity in various games into which the ball must be thrust
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
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
12 ♦
hole in the wall
Informal a small dingy place, esp. one difficult to find
13 ♦
in holes so worn as to be full of holes
his socks were in holes
14 ♦
in the hole (Chiefly U.S.)
b (of a card, the hole card, in stud poker) dealt face down in the first round
15 ♦
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
vb
16 to make a hole or holes in (something)
17 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) ♦
holey adj
air hole
n
1 a hole that allows the passage of air, esp. for ventilation
2 a section of open water in a frozen surface
3 a less common name for →
air pocket →
1
beam hole
n a hole in the shield of a nuclear reactor through which a beam of radiation, esp. of neutrons, is allowed to escape for experimental purposes
black hole (Astronomy)
n
a a hypothetical region of space resulting from the gravitational collapse of a star following the exhaustion of its nuclear fuel. The gravitational field around the region would be so high that neither matter nor radiation could escape from it
b a similar but much more massive region of space at the centre of a galaxy
2 any place regarded as resembling a black hole in that items or information entering it cannot be retrieved
Black Hole of Calcutta
n
1 a small dungeon in which in 1756 the Nawab of Bengal reputedly confined 146 English prisoners, of whom only 23 survived
2 Informal (chiefly Brit) any uncomfortable or overcrowded place
bogey hole
n (Austral) a natural pool used for swimming
bolt hole
n a place of escape from danger
cat hole
n one of a pair of holes in the after part of a ship through which hawsers are passed for steadying the ship or heaving astern
coal hole
n (Brit)
informal a small coal cellar
dene hole
n a hole or shaft excavated in the chalk of southern England or northern France, of uncertain origin and purpose
(of uncertain origin: perhaps from dene1)
dry hole
n (in the oil industry) a well that is drilled but does not produce oil or gas in commercially worthwhile amounts
funk hole
n
Informal
2 a job that affords exemption from military service
glory hole
n
1 Informal a room, cupboard, or other storage space that contains an untidy and miscellaneous collection of objects
2 (Nautical) another term for →
lazaretto →
1
gnamma hole
n a variant spelling of →
namma hole
hidy-hole , hidey-hole
n
Informal a hiding place
hole-and-corner
adj usually prenominal
Informal furtive or secretive
hole in one (Golf)
n
1 a shot from the tee that finishes in the hole
vb
2 intr to score a hole in one, (Also (esp. U.S.))
ace
hole in the heart
n
a a defect of the heart in which there is an abnormal opening in any of the walls dividing the four heart chambers
b (as modifier)
a hole-in-the-heart operation
hole up
vb intr, adv
1 (of an animal) to hibernate, esp. in a cave
2 Informal to hide or remain secluded
kettle hole
n a round hollow formed by the melting of a mass of buried ice, (Often shortened to)
kettle
lubber's hole
n (Nautical) a hole in a top or platform on a mast through which a sailor can climb
namma hole
n (Austral) a natural well in a rock
(C19: from a native Australian language)
nineteenth hole
n (Golf, slang) the bar in a golf clubhouse
(C20: from its being the next objective after a standard 18-hole round)
priest-hole , priest's hole
n a secret chamber in certain houses in England, built as a hiding place for Roman Catholic priests when they were proscribed in the 16th and 17th centuries
shot hole
n a drilled hole into which explosive is put for blasting
snow hole
n (Mountaineering) a shelter dug in deep usually drifted snow, (Also called)
snow cave
sound hole
n any of variously shaped apertures in the sounding board of certain stringed instruments, such as the `f' shaped holes of a violin
spider hole
n (Military) a small hole in the ground in which a sniper hides
swallow hole
n (Chiefly Brit) another word for →
sinkhole →
1
toad-in-the-hole
n (Brit. and Austral) a dish made of sausages baked in a batter
top-hole
interj
adj (Brit)
informal excellent; splendid
water hole
n
1 a depression, such as a pond or pool, containing water, esp. one used by animals as a drinking place
2 a source of drinking water in a desert
watering hole
n
1 a pool where animals drink; water hole
Wookey Hole
n a village in SW England, in Somerset, near Wells: noted for the nearby limestone cave in which prehistoric remains have been found. Pop.: 1000 (latest est.)