Hollow definition

hŏlō
hollowed hollowest hollowing hollows
See word origin
Frequency:
Without substance or character.

A hollow person.

adjective
19
8
Having a cavity, gap, or space within.

A hollow wall.

adjective
15
4
A small valley between hills or mountains.
noun
12
3
Devoid of truth or validity; specious.
adjective
11
3
An indented or concave surface or area.
noun
10
4
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Deeply indented or concave; sunken.
adjective
5
1
A cavity, gap, or space.

A hollow behind a wall.

noun
6
3
A void; an emptiness.

A hollow in one's life.

noun
3
0
To make hollow.

Hollow out a pumpkin.

verb
3
0
To scoop or form by making concave.

Hollow out a nest in the sand.

verb
3
0
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To become hollow or empty.
verb
3
0
Deeply set; sunken.

Hollow cheeks.

adjective
3
0
A hollow formation or place; cavity; hole.
noun
3
0
A small, sheltered valley.
noun
3
0
Having an empty space, or only air, within it; having a cavity inside; not solid.
adjective
2
0
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Depressed below the surrounding surface; shaped like a cup or bowl; concave.
adjective
2
0
Empty or worthless; not real or meaningful.

Hollow praise.

adjective
2
0
Hungry.
adjective
2
0
Deep-toned, dull, and muffled, as though resounding from something hollow.
adjective
2
0
In a hollow manner.
adverb
2
0
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To make or become hollow.
verb
2
0
(figuratively) Insincere, devoid of validity; specious.

A hollow promise.

adjective
2
0
Having a reverberating, sepulchral sound.

Hollow footsteps.

adjective
2
1
Hollow means an empty space.

An example of hollow is an empty space inside of a tree.

noun
1
0
(figuratively) Without substance; having no real or significant worth; meaningless.

A hollow victory.

adjective
1
0
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(figuratively) A feeling of emptiness.

A hollow in the pit of one's stomach.

noun
1
0
Hollow is defined as to create an empty space within something.

An example of hollow is to remove the insides of a log.

verb
0
0
The definition of hollow is having a space inside or being shaped like a bowl.

An example of hollow is a chocolate Easter bunny with nothing inside of it.

An example of hollow are cheeks which are deeply sunken.

adjective
0
0
(of something solid) Having an empty space or cavity inside.

A hollow tree; a hollow sphere.

adjective
0
0
(of a sound) Distant, eerie; echoing, reverberating, as if in a hollow space; dull, muffled; often low-pitched.

A hollow moan.

adjective
0
0
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Depressed; concave; gaunt; sunken.
adjective
0
0
(colloquial) Completely, as part of the phrase beat hollow or beat all hollow.
adverb
0
0
A small valley between mountains; a low spot surrounded by elevations.

He built himself a cabin in a hollow high up in the Rockies.

noun
0
0
A sunken area or unfilled space in something solid; a cavity, natural or artificial.

The hollow of the hand or of a tree.

noun
0
0
(US) A sunken area.
noun
0
0
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To make a hole in something; to excavate.
verb
0
0
To urge or call by shouting; to hollo.
verb
0
0
Alternative form of hollo.
interjection
0
0
beat (all) hollow
  • to defeat thoroughly or surpass by far
idiom
1
0
hollow out
  • to make hollow
  • to make by hollowing
idiom
1
0
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
hollow
Plural:
hollows

Adjective

Base Form:
hollow
Comparative:
hollower
Superlative:
hollowest

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

beat (all) hollow

Origin of hollow

  • Middle English holwe, holowe from holgh hole, burrow (influenced by hole hollow) from Old English holh kel-1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • 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.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English holow, earlier holgh, from Old English holh (“a hollow”)', from hol (“hollow (adj.)”). See above.

    From Wiktionary

  • Compare holler.

    From Wiktionary

Hollow Sentence Examples

  • The blue-bird makes her nest in a hollow tree and her eggs are blue.

  • The dirt hit his body with a hollow thud.

  • The skull looked up through hollow eyes, just as the flashlight died, plunging the pair into a blackened void of darkness.

  • In this way two cavalry regiments galloped through the Semenovsk hollow and as soon as they reached the top of the incline turned round and galloped full speed back again.

  • Where a large-celled pith is developed this often becomes obvious very early, and in some cases it appears to have separate initials situated below those of the hollow vascular cylinder.

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Words near hollow in the Dictionary