{ "term": "hole", "partOfSpeech": "noun", "ox3000": true, "cefr": "a2", "image": "data/images/sp/sports_misc.png", "definitions": [ { "senseNumber": 1, "definition": "a hollow space in something solid or in the surface of something", "sensetop": "hole in something", "cefr": "a2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "He **dug a** deep **hole** in the garden." }, { "text": "The bomb blew a huge hole in the ground.", "contextForm": "hole in something" }, { "text": "Water had collected in the holes in the road." }, { "text": "She **drilled a** small **hole** in the wall." }, { "text": "I uprooted the tree and filled the hole with earth." }, { "text": "The snake disappeared down a hole." }, { "text": "There was water in the hole." }, { "text": "We dug a deep hole to bury the animals in." }, { "text": "We used cement to plug the holes." }, { "text": "He managed to dig out a small snow hole." }, { "text": "I've got a chocolate-bar-sized hole in my stomach." } ], "collocations": { "adjective": ["big", "deep", "gaping"], "verb + hole": ["bore", "create", "cut"], "preposition": [ "down a/​the hole", "in a/​the hole", "through a/​the hole" ], "phrases": ["full of holes", "riddled with holes"] } }, { "senseNumber": 2, "definition": "a space or opening that goes all the way through something", "sensetop": "hole in somethingthrough a hole", "labels": "(informal)", "cefr": "a2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "We **drilled a hole** through the wall." }, { "text": "The car was riddled with **bullet holes**." }, { "text": "The old blankets were **full of holes**." }, { "text": "There were holes in the knees of his trousers.", "contextForm": "hole in something" }, { "text": "There's a **gaping hole** in the ceiling and rain is pouring onto my desk." }, { "text": "She **punched** two **holes** in each sheet of paper." }, { "text": "The children climbed through a hole in the fence.", "contextForm": "through a hole" }, { "text": "The fisherman cut a round hole in the ice of the lake." }, { "text": "He had worn a hole in the knees of his trousers." }, { "text": "I used a skewer to make an extra hole in my belt." }, { "text": "The missile had torn a jagged hole in the side of the ship." }, { "text": "The wall was full of bullet holes." } ], "collocations": { "adjective": ["big", "deep", "gaping"], "verb + hole": ["bore", "create", "cut"], "preposition": [ "down a/​the hole", "in a/​the hole", "through a/​the hole" ], "phrases": ["full of holes", "riddled with holes"] } }, { "senseNumber": 3, "definition": "the home of a small animal", "sensetop": "down a hole", "examples": [ { "text": "a mouse hole" }, { "text": "The story begins with Alice falling down a rabbit hole.", "contextForm": "down a hole" } ] }, { "senseNumber": 4, "definition": "an unpleasant place to live or be in", "labels": "(informal, disapproving)", "examples": [ { "text": "I am not going to bring up my child in this hole." } ], "synonyms": "dump" }, { "senseNumber": 5, "definition": "a hollow in the ground that you must get the ball into; one of the sections of a golf course with the tee at the beginning and the hole at the end", "cefr": "b1", "examples": [ { "text": "The ball rolled into the hole and she had won." }, { "text": "an eighteen-hole golf course" }, { "text": "He liked to play a few holes after work." }, { "text": "She won the first hole." }, { "text": "She won by one hole." } ], "topics": ["Sports: ball and racket sports"] }, { "senseNumber": 6, "definition": "a fault or weakness in something such as a plan, law or story", "sensetop": "hole in something", "examples": [ { "text": "I don't believe what she says—her story is **full of holes**." }, { "text": "He was found not guilty because of holes in the prosecution case.", "contextForm": "hole in something" } ] }, { "senseNumber": 7, "definition": "a place or position that needs to be filled because somebody/something is no longer there", "sensetop": "hole (in something)", "examples": [ { "text": "After his wife left, there was a **gaping hole** in his life." }, { "text": "Buying the new equipment left a big hole in the company's finances." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "a secret advantage, for example a piece of information or a skill, that you are ready to use if you need to", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "if money burns a hole in your pocket, you want to spend it as soon as you have it", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to get yourself into a bad situation that will be very difficult to get out of", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "in a difficult situation", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "He had got himself into a hole and it was going to be difficult to get out of it." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "owing money", "labels": "(North American English, informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "We start the current fiscal year $30 million in the hole." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to use up a large amount of something that you have, especially money", "examples": [ { "text": "School fees can make a big hole in your savings." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to find the weak points in something such as a plan, suggestion, etc.", "examples": [ { "text": "It was easy to pick holes in his arguments." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "a person who does not feel happy or comfortable in a particular situation, or who is not suitable for it", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [] } ], "pronunciations": { "uk": [ { "pronunciation": "/həʊl/", "audio": "ho/hole/hole__gb_1.mp3" } ], "us": [ { "pronunciation": "/həʊl/", "audio": "ho/hole/hole__us_1.mp3" } ] }, "wordOrigin": "Old English hol (noun), holian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hol (noun) ‘cave’, (adjective) ‘hollow’, and German hohl ‘hollow’, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘cover, conceal’." }