hollow out
phrasal verb
hollowed out; hollowing out; hollows out
1
: to remove the inside of (something) : to make an empty space in (something)
The kids were hollowing out pumpkins.
a hollowed-out log
2
: to form (something) by digging or cutting the inside of something
Workers hollowed out a tunnel through the mountain.
Examples of hollow out in a Sentence
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In the three decades before his arrival, Washington embraced a dogmatic neoliberalism that saw economists and politicians ignore or even applaud market integration with China, the hollowing out of U.S. industry, and the explosion of the country’s trade deficit.
—
Oren Cass, Foreign Affairs, 16 Jan. 2025
Deindustrialization and the hollowing out of the middle class, decades of strategic overreach and hyperglobalization, and an influx of immigrants that has contributed to rapid shifts in the country’s demographic makeup have all sapped political support for liberal internationalism.
—Charles A. Kupchan, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
When Pertinax abandoned a career as a teacher and joined the army, frontier wars had hollowed out the ranks, allowing his exceptional talent to catch his superiors’ attention.
—Jeffrey E. Schulman / Made By History, TIME, 20 Dec. 2024
Seated next to the actress is a curious passenger: a near-life-size white plastic swan, hollowed out with a hole in its back.
—Eileen Finan, People.com, 18 Dec. 2024
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Oren Cass, Foreign Affairs, 16 Jan. 2025
Deindustrialization and the hollowing out of the middle class, decades of strategic overreach and hyperglobalization, and an influx of immigrants that has contributed to rapid shifts in the country’s demographic makeup have all sapped political support for liberal internationalism.
—Charles A. Kupchan, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
When Pertinax abandoned a career as a teacher and joined the army, frontier wars had hollowed out the ranks, allowing his exceptional talent to catch his superiors’ attention.
—Jeffrey E. Schulman / Made By History, TIME, 20 Dec. 2024
Seated next to the actress is a curious passenger: a near-life-size white plastic swan, hollowed out with a hole in its back.
—Eileen Finan, People.com, 18 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hollow out
Dictionary Entries Near hollow out
Cite this Entry
“Hollow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hollow%20out. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
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