hole

Universal Words noun, verb noun hollow space 1 [C] a hollow space in sth solid or in the surface of sth: He dug a deep hole in the garden. * The bomb blew a huge hole in the ground. * Water had collected in the holes in the road. opening 2 [C] a space or opening that goes all the way through sth SYNGAP: to drill / bore / punch / kick a hole in sth * There were holes in the knees of his trousers. * The children climbed through a hole in the fence. * a bullet hole * the hole in the ozone layer seealsoOZONEHOLE animal's home 3 [C] the home of a small animal: a rabbit / mouse hole seealsoBOLT-HOLE compareFOXHOLE, PIGEON-HOLE unpleasant place 4 [C,usually sing.] (informal, disapproving) an unpleasant place to live or be in: I am not going to bring up my child in this hole. seealsoHELLHOLE in golf 5 [C] a hollow in the ground that you must get the ball into; one of the sections of a GOLFCOURSE with the TEE at the beginning and the hole at the end: The ball rolled into the hole and she had won. * an eighteen-hole golf course * He liked to play a few holes after work. * She won the first hole. fault / weakness 6 [C,usually pl.] a fault or weakness in sth such as a plan, law or story: He was found not guilty because of holes in the prosecution case. * I don't believe what she says-her story is full of holes. seealsoLOOPHOLE empty place / position 7 [sing.] a place or position that needs to be filled because sb/sth is no longer there: After his wife left, there was a gaping hole in his life. * Buying the new equipment left a big hole in the company's finances. HELPNOTE There are many other compounds ending in hole. You will find them at their place in the alphabet. IDIOMS in a hole (informal) in a difficult situation: He had got himself into a hole and it was going to be difficult to get out of it. in the hole (AmE, informal) in debt; owing money: We start the current fiscal year $30 million in the hole. make a hole in sth to use up a large amount of sth that you have, especially money: School fees can make a big hole in your savings. moreatACEn., BURNv., DIGv., PICKv. verb make a hole 1 [VN] [usuallypassive] to make a hole or holes in sth, especially a boat or ship: The ship had been holed by a missile. * The hull was holed in several places. in golf 2 ~ (out) to hit a golf ball into the hole: [VN] She holed a 25 foot putt. * [V] She holed out from 25 feet. PHRASALVERBS hole up