hollow
A small valley between mountains.
Noun 4 meanings
A small valley between mountains.
“He built himself a cabin in a hollow high up in the Rockies.”
A sunken area on a surface.
“He held the chick in the hollow of his hand.”
An unfilled space in something solid; a cavity, natural or artificial.
“a hollow in a tree trunk”
A feeling of emptiness.
“a hollow in the pit of one’s stomach”
Verb 2 meanings
to make a hole in something; to excavate
To call or urge by shouting; to hollo.
Adjective 4 meanings
Having an empty space or cavity inside.
“a hollow tree; a hollow sphere”
Distant, eerie; echoing, reverberating, as if in a hollow space; dull, muffled; often low-pitched.
“He let out a hollow moan.”
Without substance; having no real or significant worth; meaningless.
“a hollow victory”
Insincere, devoid of validity; specious.
“a hollow promise”
Adverb 1 meaning
Completely, as part of the phrase beat hollow or beat all hollow.
Etymology
From Middle English holow, holowe, holwe, holwȝ, holgh, from Old English holh (“a hollow”), from Proto-West Germanic *holh, from Proto-Germanic *hulwiją, from Proto-Germanic *hulaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide”). Cognate with Old High German huliwa and hulwa, Middle High German hülwe.
Similar and opposite words
HOLLOW at a glance
HOLLOW has 6 letters and scores 12 points in Scrabble (H 4 + O 1 + L 1 + L 1 + O 1 + W 4) and 13 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #7,579 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with hollow
All rhymesOne letter away
- FOLLOW12
- HALLOW12
- HOLLOA9
- HOLLOO9
- HOLLOS9
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