1
a
: a circular hole formed in the rocky bed of a river by the grinding action of stones or gravel whirled round by the water
b
: a sizable rounded often water-filled depression in land
2
: a pot-shaped hole in a road surface
3
: a usually minor difficulty or setback
hit a pothole in her comeback attempt
Examples of pothole in a Sentence
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Many of those nuts-and-bolts ward-level services like trash pickup, tree trimming and pothole repair are now centralized through citywide street grid planning and the 311 service request system.
—
Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2025
Popular music also proved to be a breeding ground, with 4,000 Holes (Blackburn Rovers) paying homage to A Day in the Life by The Beatles, which features a line about how the Lancashire town’s streets had 4,000 potholes requiring repair that John Lennon lifted straight from a newspaper report.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 7 June 2025
The Denver Post Maintenance workers also fixed guardrails, potholes and signs before the opening.
—Max Levy, Denver Post, 23 May 2025
The parking lot then was mostly potholes surrounded by sand.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
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Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2025
Popular music also proved to be a breeding ground, with 4,000 Holes (Blackburn Rovers) paying homage to A Day in the Life by The Beatles, which features a line about how the Lancashire town’s streets had 4,000 potholes requiring repair that John Lennon lifted straight from a newspaper report.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 7 June 2025
The Denver Post Maintenance workers also fixed guardrails, potholes and signs before the opening.
—Max Levy, Denver Post, 23 May 2025
The parking lot then was mostly potholes surrounded by sand.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pothole
Cite this Entry
“Pothole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pothole. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pothole
noun
pot·hole
ˈpät-ˌhōl 
: a deep round hole (as in a road)
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