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
(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
Kenneth Roberts
b
: a position of owing or losing money
$10 million in the hole
raising money to get out of the hole
holed; holing
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.
: to make an opening through or a hollowed-out place in something : to make a hole in something
Synonyms
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 WebNoah Alcala Bach, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Apr. 2024
And, it should be said, the 11th hole has a massive scoreboard right next to the green.
—Jordan Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2024
The female then lays eggs in holes made in tree branches and shrubs, National Geographic reports.
—Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Canning’s rough start put the Angels in a 4-0 hole after one inning and a 6-0 deficit after two.
—Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 13 Apr. 2024
Battling to maintain his early lead during a windswept second round at the 88th edition of the major, trouble looked to be brewing for the big-hitting American when his tee drive at the par-five 13th hole skewed right into the woods beside the fairway.
—Jack Bantock, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
People can build one of two types of burrows:
A pipe burrow requires a 12-inch PVC pipe placed in a 16-inch hole at a 40-degree angle.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2024
The roofs of many houses still had gaping holes, all signs that people here were unable to recover from one storm before the next one hit.
—Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 11 Apr. 2024
Lindberg finishes off Inbee Park on the par-4 10th, the fourth playoff hole at Mission Hills.
2018 — Villanova wins its second men’s national championship in three years after a 79-62 victory over Michigan.
—Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Doug Ferguson, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2024
But her decision to limit her studio output, as the rare pop star content to hole away until their next full-length statement is ready for unveiling, built enormous anticipation (and expectation) for its follow-up.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 12 Dec. 2023
Paige doesn’t play because of a broken bone in his right hand.
2016 — Mackenzie Hughes holes an 18-foot par putt from off the green to win the RSM Classic and become the first rookie in 20 years to go wire-to-wire for his first PGA Tour victory.
—Iliana Limón Romero, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2023
The chair can adapt to a range of ages and sizes: babies can be strapped in using the harness and toddlers can stand using the optional leg holes exersaucer-style.
—Mandy Harris, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2023
The once-faint murmurs of sirens wailing, clanging horns, and busy cars outside of Aman New York, the city’s swanky new Fifth Avenue luxury haven, are now reverberating through the penthouse suite master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian is holed into.
—Nerisha Penrose, ELLE, 7 Sep. 2023
Lee hit wedge to 7 feet and holed the par putt to join Hull at 16-under 272 and force a playoff.
—Associated Press, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2023
The limited-time Fantasy Feast ($249.99) feeds up to 12 guests with six dozen jumbo chicken wings, three racks of St. Louis-style ribs, sides, garlic bread, and two dozen cinnamon sugar donut holes.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2023
And because making the vent holes smaller threw off the HVAC system, that then had to be reconfigured.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2023
Noun
One side of the street was lined with vendors and community organizations in tents, food trucks and an array of games ranging from corn hole to tricycle races.
—Noah Alcala Bach, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Apr. 2024
And, it should be said, the 11th hole has a massive scoreboard right next to the green.
—Jordan Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2024
The female then lays eggs in holes made in tree branches and shrubs, National Geographic reports.
—Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Canning’s rough start put the Angels in a 4-0 hole after one inning and a 6-0 deficit after two.
—Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 13 Apr. 2024
Battling to maintain his early lead during a windswept second round at the 88th edition of the major, trouble looked to be brewing for the big-hitting American when his tee drive at the par-five 13th hole skewed right into the woods beside the fairway.
—Jack Bantock, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
People can build one of two types of burrows:
A pipe burrow requires a 12-inch PVC pipe placed in a 16-inch hole at a 40-degree angle.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2024
The roofs of many houses still had gaping holes, all signs that people here were unable to recover from one storm before the next one hit.
—Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 11 Apr. 2024
Lindberg finishes off Inbee Park on the par-4 10th, the fourth playoff hole at Mission Hills.
2018 — Villanova wins its second men’s national championship in three years after a 79-62 victory over Michigan.
—Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Verb
And here is on Maui, holing enough birdie putts and making some 6-footers for par along the way to keep momentum.
—Doug Ferguson, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2024
But her decision to limit her studio output, as the rare pop star content to hole away until their next full-length statement is ready for unveiling, built enormous anticipation (and expectation) for its follow-up.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 12 Dec. 2023
Paige doesn’t play because of a broken bone in his right hand.
2016 — Mackenzie Hughes holes an 18-foot par putt from off the green to win the RSM Classic and become the first rookie in 20 years to go wire-to-wire for his first PGA Tour victory.
—Iliana Limón Romero, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2023
The chair can adapt to a range of ages and sizes: babies can be strapped in using the harness and toddlers can stand using the optional leg holes exersaucer-style.
—Mandy Harris, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2023
The once-faint murmurs of sirens wailing, clanging horns, and busy cars outside of Aman New York, the city’s swanky new Fifth Avenue luxury haven, are now reverberating through the penthouse suite master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian is holed into.
—Nerisha Penrose, ELLE, 7 Sep. 2023
Lee hit wedge to 7 feet and holed the par putt to join Hull at 16-under 272 and force a playoff.
—Associated Press, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2023
The limited-time Fantasy Feast ($249.99) feeds up to 12 guests with six dozen jumbo chicken wings, three racks of St. Louis-style ribs, sides, garlic bread, and two dozen cinnamon sugar donut holes.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2023
And because making the vent holes smaller threw off the HVAC system, that then had to be reconfigured.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hole.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hole
Cite this Entry
“Hole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hole. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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