adjective
hol·low·er, hol·low·est - Having a cavity, gap, or space within: a hollow wall.
- Deeply indented or concave; sunken: “His bearded face already has a set, hollow look” ( Conor Cruise O'Brien )
- Without substance or character: a hollow person. See Synonyms at vain.
- Devoid of truth or validity; specious: “Theirs is at best a hollow form of flattery” ( Annalyn Swan )
- Having a reverberating, sepulchral sound: hollow footsteps.
noun
- A cavity, gap, or space: a hollow behind a wall.
- An indented or concave surface or area.
- A void; an emptiness: a hollow in one's life.
- A small valley between hills or mountains.
verb
hol·lowed, hol·low·ing, hol·lows verb
transitive- To make hollow: hollow out a pumpkin.
- To scoop or form by making concave: hollow out a nest in the sand.
verb
intransitiveTo become hollow or empty.
Origin of hollow
Middle English
holwe, holowe from holgh hole, burrow (
influenced by hole hollow )
from Old English
holh ; see
kel-1 in Indo-European roots.
Related Forms:
Adjective (comparative hollower, superlative hollowest)
- (of something solid) Having an empty space or cavity inside.
- a hollow tree; a hollow sphere
- (of a sound) Distant, eerie; echoing, reverberating, as if in a hollow space; dull, muffled; often low-pitched.
- a hollow moan
- (figuratively) Without substance; having no real or significant worth; meaningless.
- a hollow victory
- (figuratively) Insincere, devoid of validity; specious.
- a hollow promise
- Depressed; concave; gaunt; sunken.
Adverb (not comparable)
- (colloquial) Completely, as part of the phrase beat hollow or beat all hollow.
Origin Middle English holw, holh, from Old English hol (“hollow”), from Proto-Germanic *hulaz (compare Dutch hol, German hohl, Danish hul), from Proto-Indo-European *k̑ówHilo- (compare Albanian thellë (“deep”), Ancient Greek κοῖλος (koĩlos, “hollow”)', Avestan [script?] (sūra)[script?], Sanskrit [script?] (kulyā, “brook, ditch”)[script?]), from *k̑ówH- (“cavity”). More at cave.
Noun (plural hollows)
- A small valley between mountains; a low spot surrounded by elevations.
- He built himself a cabin in a hollow high up in the Rockies.
- A sunken area or unfilled space in something solid; a cavity, natural or artificial.
- the hollow of the hand or of a tree
- (US) A sunken area.
- (figuratively) A feeling of emptiness.
- a hollow in the pit of one's stomach
Verb (third-person singular simple present hollows, present participle hollowing, simple past and past participle hollowed)
- to make a hole in something; to excavate
Origin Middle English holow, earlier holgh, from Old English holh (“a hollow”)', from hol (“hollow (adj.)”). See above.
Verb (third-person singular simple present hollows, present participle hollowing, simple past and past participle hollowed)
- To urge or call by shouting; to hollo.
Interjection - Alternative form of hollo.
