Idioms for hole

Origin of hole

before 900; Middle English; Old English hol hole, cave, orig. neuter of hol (adj.) hollow; cognate with German hohl hollow

SYNONYMS FOR hole

1, 2 pit, hollow, concavity. Hole, cavity, excavation refer to a hollow place in anything. Hole is the common word for this idea: a hole in turf. Cavity is a more formal or scientific term for a hollow within the body or in a substance, whether with or without a passage outward: a cavity in a tooth; the cranial cavity. An excavation is an extended hole made by digging out or removing material: an excavation before the construction of a building.
3 den, cave; lair, retreat.
4 hovel, shack.

OTHER WORDS FROM hole

hole·less, adjective hol·ey, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH hole

hole whole (see synonym study at the current entry) (see synonym study at whole) holey holy wholly

British Dictionary definitions for hole in the wall (1 of 2)

hole in the wall

noun informal

mainly British another name for cash dispenser
a small dingy place, esp one difficult to find

British Dictionary definitions for hole in the wall (2 of 2)

hole
/ (həʊl) /

noun

verb

to make a hole or holes in (something)
(when intr, often foll by out) golf to hit (the ball) into the hole

Word Origin for hole

Old English hol; related to Gothic hulundi, German Höhle, Old Norse hylr pool, Latin caulis hollow stem; see hollow

Scientific definitions for hole in the wall

hole
[ hōl ]

A gap, usually the valence band of an insulator or semiconductor, that would normally be filled with one electron. If an electron accelerated by a voltage moves into a gap, it leaves a gap behind it, and in this way the hole itself appears to move through the substance. Even though holes are in fact the absence of a negatively charged particle (an electron), they can be treated theoretically as positively charged particles, whose motion gives rise to electric current.

Idioms and Phrases with hole in the wall (1 of 2)

hole in the wall

A small, modest, or obscure place, as in My new apartment is just a hole in the wall, or Believe it or not, that little hole in the wall is a great restaurant. This graphic term is often used disparagingly. [First half of 1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with hole in the wall (2 of 2)

hole