hollow Definition
hol·low (häl′ō)
adjective
- having an empty space, or only air, within it; having a cavity inside; not solid
- depressed below the surrounding surface; shaped like a cup or bowl; concave
- deeply set; sunken hollow cheeks
- empty or worthless; not real or meaningful hollow praise
- hungry
- deep-toned, dull, and muffled, as though resounding from something hollow
Etymology: ME holwe < OE holh: see hole
adverb
in a hollow manner
noun
- a hollow formation or place; cavity; hole
- a small, sheltered valley
transitive verb, intransitive verb
to make or become hollow
hollow Related Forms
hollow Idioms
beat all hollow
Informal to outdo or surpass by far
hollow out
to make by hollowing
hollow Synonyms
hollow
modif.
Empty
Concave
rounded inward, curving inward, bellshaped, curved, carved out, sunken, depressed, arched, vaulted, cup-shaped, excavated, infundibular, hollowed out, indented, incurved, cupped, cyathiform, incurving, incurvate, troughlike; see also bent, round 3.Sounding as though from a cave
cavernous, echoing, deep, resonant, ghostly, deep-toned, blooming, roaring, rumbling, reverberating, muffled, nonresonant, plangent, dull, resounding, vibrant, muffled, sepulchral, vibrating, low, booming, ringing, clangorous, deep, mute, deep-mouthed, deep-toned, muted, thunderous; see also loud 1.False
flimsy, artificial, unsound; see false 2.*Hungry
unsatisfied, ravenous, starved; see hungry. See syn. study at vain.
beat all hollow*
hollow Synonyms
hollow
n.
hollow Usage Examples
Object
chamfer: Single light in east wall with hollowed chamfers, all in yellow freestone.
Preposition: out
log: A further current problem on traditional hives is that many are made from hollowed out logs obtained from large trees.
Adjective modifier
- damp: Redshank chicks can be spotted feeding in the damp grassy hollows left by winter flooding, gorging on the variety of insects.
- shallow: A scrape is a shallow hollow which is seasonally wet.
- wet: This is particularly the case along the sides of valleys or in wet hollows in flat land on the coastal plain.
- numerous: It can be argued that an equally important component of any'drumlin landscape ' are the similarly numerous inter-drumlin hollows.
Modifies a noun
- chamfer: East wall: splayed window with clear glass except for edges; has an internal hollow chamfer.
- tine: To aerate the turf, use a hollow tine fork to increase drainage of heavy soils.
- trunk: I slip back into the wood, the hollow trunk of my lone position.
- tining: There is the possibility that if hollow tining is carried out too frequently a soft and not very resilient sward is produced.
- tube: A catheter is a thin, clean, flexible hollow tube, usually made of soft plastic or rubber.
- dialyser: Hollow fiber dialysers are artificial kidneys where numerous bundles of dialysis tubing are contained within a plastic cylinder.
Used with adjective complement
- ring: The usual defense of the royal family is starting to ring hollow: ' they are good for tourism ' .
- shelter: Overlooking a cascading stream, this 17thC watermill conversion nestles in a sheltered hollow at the foot of the magnificent Howgill Fells.
- sound: Our feet sounded hollow on the thin plug filling the huge crater.
- seem: For those of us that did our porridge standing at the Priestfield it all seems rather hollow.
Noun used with modifier
inter-drumlin: Landscape Key Characteristics Rolling drumlins with broad areas of wetland and bog in inter-drumlin hollows; small rounded loughs are fringed by moss.
Modifying Another Word
Browse dictionary entries near hollow
- ‹ hollo
- ‹ holler
- ‹ Hollands
- ‹ Hollandia
- ‹ hollandaise sauce
- ‹ holland
- ‹ holla
- ‹ holistic
- ‹ holism
- ‹ Holinshed
- hollow-eyed ›
- hollow (out) ›
- holloware ›
- holly ›
- hollyhock ›
- Hollywood ›
- Hollywood bed ›
- holm ›
- holm oak ›
- Holmes ›
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