Meaning

A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure..

Definitions by Sense

1. A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure.
2. An opening that goes all the way through a solid body, a fabric, etc.; a perforation; a rent.
3. (heading) In games.
4. (archaeology, slang) An excavation pit or trench.
5. (figuratively) A weakness; a flaw or ambiguity.
6. (physics) In semiconductors, a lack of an electron in an occupied band behaving like a positively charged particle.
7. (computing) A security vulnerability in software which can be taken advantage of by an exploit.
8. (slang, vulgar) Any bodily orifice.

Example Sentences

I made a blind hole in the wall for a peg.  I dug a hole and planted a tree in it.

To be called into a huge sphere, and not to be seen to move in't, are the holes where eyes should be, which pitifully disaster the cheeks.

Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

There’s a hole in my shoe.  Her stocking has a hole in it.

The priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid.

[…]her palfrey’s footfall shot Light horrors thro’ her pulses: the blind walls Were full of chinks and holes; and overhead Fantastic gables, crowding, stared:[…]

I have found a hole in your argument.

But between the drinks and subtle things / The holes in my apologies, you know / I’m trying hard to take it back

Word Forms

• holes
• holing
• holed
• holer
• more hole
• holest
• most hole

Synonyms for hole

Related Words

When Should You Use Hole?

Use hole when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions