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
Recent Examples on the Web
Most notably, the Supreme Court hollowed out key portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant civil rights laws in our nation’s history, in the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision.
—
Sean Morales-Doyle, Time, 21 May 2025
The Vanishing Middle Class Perhaps most alarming is the hollowing out of Hollywood’s creative middle class.
—Jd Barker, Rolling Stone, 20 May 2025
Intisar saw hunger hollowing out her husband’s cheeks.
—Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
But the fear is that if mining withers away in the face of foreign competition, then much of northern Minnesota may end up hollowed out like some other parts of the upper Midwest.
—Tim Gruber, New York Times, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hollow out
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Sean Morales-Doyle, Time, 21 May 2025
The Vanishing Middle Class Perhaps most alarming is the hollowing out of Hollywood’s creative middle class.
—Jd Barker, Rolling Stone, 20 May 2025
Intisar saw hunger hollowing out her husband’s cheeks.
—Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
But the fear is that if mining withers away in the face of foreign competition, then much of northern Minnesota may end up hollowed out like some other parts of the upper Midwest.
—Tim Gruber, New York Times, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hollow out
Cite this Entry
“Hollow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hollow%20out. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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