1
as in aperture
a place in a surface allowing passage into or through a thing
line up the pegs on section A with the holes in section B and press the two together
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pit
a sunken area forming a separate space
dig a hole big enough to plant the tree
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in predicament
a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape
Bill dug himself into a hole by promising to be in two places at the same time
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in dump
a dirty or messy place
when people see my room, they often ask, "How can you live in this hole?"
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in gap
an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge)
found a hole in the chain-link fence big enough to squeeze through
Synonyms & Similar Words
6
7
as in void
an incomplete or deficient area
there's a huge hole in your logic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to drill
to make a hole or series of holes in
holed the target with a round of shots
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hole
Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 23 Mar. 2026
At the time, Koepka was playing the par 3 15th hole.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 22 Mar. 2026
Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2026
Sarkisian in public comments will likely avoid pigeon-holing the pair into set roles, so the duo’s usage in the spring will hint at their roles in the fall.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hole
Noun
Dig New York City out of a multibillion-dollar budget hole, with limited impacts to city services.
—Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 23 Mar. 2026
At the time, Koepka was playing the par 3 15th hole.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 22 Mar. 2026
Verb
But some backpacks are better for travel than others, perhaps designed with isolated shoe compartments, holes to feed your phone charging cable through, jewelry pouches, and special materials that simply wipe clean after picking up germs from public floors.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2026
Sarkisian in public comments will likely avoid pigeon-holing the pair into set roles, so the duo’s usage in the spring will hint at their roles in the fall.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hole
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hole
Noun
-
Personal style also took center stage in design; take Ryan Coogler’s Cartier Tank à Guichets with its ticket-window aperture, an archival revival that was one of the biggest debuts of the past year.—
Shannon Adducci,
Robb Report,
16 Mar. 2026
-
This is typical of lenses that deliver impeccable resolution at a wide open aperture.—
Jim Fisher,
PC Magazine,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The basketball bacchanal is the thing – swapping pep bands in end zone pits and dancing mascots and eight teams taking one court chasing after the same singular prize.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
20 Mar. 2026
-
From there, pathways can lead to a dedicated social zone centered around a crackling fire pit or a comfortable sofa, perfect for late-evening conversations.—
Rosehill Gardens,
Kansas City Star,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
This is the current predicament of Pahlavi, whose royal charisma has never been more on the line.—
Azadeh Moaveni,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
-
One thing the two men could agree on was that this whole predicament was Jimmy Buffett’s fault.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There are many more deeper, harder to get to dumps that are not practical (or economically viable) to remediate.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Cash, check or credit card are accepted for dump station fees.—
Aurora Beacon-News,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
And that gap means calculations can get weird.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
24 Mar. 2026
-
That gap, between how the law traditionally understands self-defense and how domestic-violence victims experience danger, is one the Survivors’ Act sought to address.—
Pamela Colloff,
ProPublica,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
South Florida parks are aflutter with all kinds of feathery vertebrates building nests.—
Lois K. Solomon,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Mar. 2026
-
During a remodel in the 1990s, nests were removed from overhangs and the swallows did not return to the mission.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The tonal depth in his prints is rich, dense, and moody—not a void but a presence.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
-
An actual cosmic void — which can indeed be a billion light-years (or more) across — has nothing to do with dark gas clouds and Bok globules, which are small, nearby clouds of light-blocking matter, particularly at optical wavelengths.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Refineries differ somewhat from drilling in that they are partly concentrated in Texas (Houston, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, and Dallas) but also have a large presence in Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Bellingham, Wash.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
-
And while Jevons was writing his book, a Pennsylvanian called Colonel Drake (not actually a colonel) was figuring out how to drill deep into the Earth and pump out petroleum.—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hole.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hole. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
