hole

1 of 2

noun

ˈhōl 

1

a

: an opening through something : perforation

The coat has a hole in it.

a bullet hole

b

: an area where something is missing

His mother's death left a hole in his life.

: gap: such as

(1)

: a serious discrepancy : flaw, weakness

some holes in your logic

(2)

: an opening in a defensive formation

a running back's ability to find holes in the defensive line

especially : the area of a baseball field between the positions of shortstop and third baseman

(3)

: a defect in a crystal (as of a semiconductor) that is due to an electron's having left its normal position in one of the crystal bonds and that is equivalent in many respects to a positively charged particle

2

: a hollowed-out place

a hole in an apple

: such as

a

: a cave, pit, or well in the ground

dug a large hole with a steam shovel

b

: burrow

a rabbit hole

c

: an unusually deep place in a body of water (such as a river)

3

a

: a wretched or dreary place

How could anyone live in such a hole?

b

: a prison cell especially for solitary confinement

threw him in the hole for two days

4

a

golf : a shallow cylindrical hole or hollowed-out place in the putting green of a golf course into which the ball is played

b

: a part of the golf course from tee (see tee entry 2 sense 2) to putting green

just beginning play on the third hole

also : the play on such a hole as a unit of scoring

won the hole by two strokes

5

a

: an awkward position or circumstance : fix

got the rebels out of a hole at the battle

—Kenneth Roberts

b

: a position of owing or losing money

$10 million in the hole

raising money to get out of the hole

hole

2 of 2

verb

holed; holing

transitive verb

1

: to make an opening through or a hollowed-out place in (as by cutting, digging, boring, or shooting at) : to make a hole (see hole entry 1) in

The ship was holed along the waterline by enemy fire.

2

: to drive or hit into a hole

hole a putt

The dogs holed the fox.

intransitive verb

: to make an opening through or a hollowed-out place in something : to make a hole in something

Phrases

in the hole

1

: having a score below zero

2

: at a disadvantage

Synonyms

Noun

• aperture
• opening
• orifice
• perforation

Verb

• bore
• drill
• perforate
• pierce
• punch
• puncture
• riddle

Examples of hole in a Sentence

Noun

I have a hole in my sock.

He fixed the hole in the roof.

a mouse hole in the wall

The dog dug a deep hole.

Her putt rolled right into the hole.

She made a birdie on the seventh hole.

The course has 18 holes.

Verb

She holed a long putt for a birdie.

holed the target with a round of shots

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Phoenix Open concerts 2025: This power couple will play the 16th hole Coliseum The plan, intended to prevent more traffic congestion and safeguard existing infrastructure, was developed by city, state and business leaders who make up the MAG's Regional Transportation Policy Committee. —Coleby Phillips, The Arizona Republic, 6 Nov. 2024

That will open up a huge hole for one player in particular: Allyce Jones. —Todd Boss, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

Verb

Watch:Milton rips hole the size of a basketball court in Melbourne Orlando Airport's roof Watch: Florida man jogs as Hurricane Milton hits Florida Unplanned events can occur during a journalist's live shot, especially during a major weather event. —Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY, 10 Oct. 2024

The Berkley alum has holed over 640 birdies since the challenge debuted, generating over $112,000 worth of memberships, which average around $35 apiece, as pricing varies by American Golf Association region. —Mike Dojc, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English hole, holle, going back to Old English hol "hollow place, cave, pit," noun derivative from neuter of hol "hollow, deeply concave, sunken," going back to Germanic *hula- (whence also Old Saxon & Old High German hol "hollow," Old Norse holr), probably going back to Indo-European *ḱuH-ló- (with assumed shortening of pretonic vowel), zero-grade derivative of a base *ḱeu̯H- "hollow," whence, with varying ablaut and suffixation, Greek koîlos, kóïlos "hollow, deep" (from *ḱou̯H-ilo-), Latin cavus "hollow, concave" (from *ḱou̯H-o-), Middle Irish cúa "hollow space, cavity," Middle Welsh ceu "hollow, empty" (both from *ḱou̯H-i̯o-?), Old Church Slavic sui "vain, empty" (from *ḱou̯H-i̯o-)

Verb

Middle English holen, going back to Old English holian, derivative of hol hole entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing hole

• ace in the hole
• a-hole
• air hole
• a square peg in a round hole
• black hole
• bolt-hole
• dry hole
• finger hole
• five-hole
• funk hole
• hidey-hole
• hidy-hole
• hole-and-corner
• hole card
• hole in one
• hole-in-the-wall
• hole out
• hole up
• like a hole in the head
• lubber's hole
• memory hole
• nineteenth hole
• ozone hole
• pie hole
• rabbit hole
• rip a hole
• shot hole
• shut your pie hole
• sound hole
• swimming hole
• the hole
• toad-in-the-hole
• top-hole
• water hole
• watering hole
• weep hole
• white hole

Kids Definition

hole

noun

ˈhōl

1

: an opening into or through a thing

2

a

: a hollow place (as a pit or cave)

b

: a deep place in a body of water

trout holes

3

: an underground habitation : burrow

4

: flaw, fault

5

a

: the shallow cup into which the ball is played in golf

b

: a part of a golf course from the tee to the putting green

6

: a shabby or dingy place

7

: an awkward position : fix

hole verb

holey

ˈhō-lē

adjective