hollow

Study(18)

UK /ˈhɒl.əʊ/ US /ˈhɑ.loʊ/

adj 5noun 4verb 2adv 1intj 1

Collocations

(noun.)

ADJ

deep | little, shallow, slight | damp, dark, grassy | sheltered | natural

PREP

in a/the ~

The hikers found shelter in a hollow beneath the old oak tree.

~ in

The children played happily in the hollow beneath the old oak tree.

~ of

She rested her head in the hollow of his shoulder while they watched the sunset.

Definitions

noun

A small valley between mountains.

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

c. 1710–20, Matthew Prior, The First Hymn Of Callimachus: To Jupiter Forests grew upon the barren hollows.

A sunken area on a surface.

the hollow of the 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

to make a hole in something; to excavate

adj

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.

Through thy battlements, Newstead, the hollow winds whistle:

Without substance; having no real or significant worth; meaningless.

a hollow victory

Insincere, devoid of validity; specious.

a hollow promise

"Hey, if anything happens to that, my ass is grass," Y.T. says. She's trying to sound tough and brave, but it's a hollow act in these circumstances.

Concave; gaunt; sunken.

To view with hollow eye and wrinkled brow

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a depression hollowed out of solid matter

hole

noun — a small valley between mountains

holler

verb — remove the inner part or the core of

adjective — devoid of significance or force

empty
vacuous

Antonyms

solid

Idioms & Phrases

all hollow

As a foregone conclusion.

He was beat all hollow, i.e. he had no chance of conquering. It was all hollow, or a hollow thing, it was a decided thing from the beginning.

ring hollow

To seem to be false or implausible; to be unconvincing.

In his own ears the words he spoke rang hollow, awkward, even impertinent. He could say nothing which did not seem hideously supercilious.

Example Bank

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

Wiktionary

c. 1710–20, Matthew Prior, The First Hymn Of Callimachus: To Jupiter Forests grew upon the barren hollows.

Wiktionary

This road leads through a sandy hollow shaded by trees for about a quarter of a mile, where it crosses the bridge famous in goblin story, and just beyond swells the green knoll on which stands the whi

Wiktionary

a hollow tree; a hollow sphere

Wiktionary

He let out a hollow moan.

Wiktionary

Through thy battlements, Newstead, the hollow winds whistle:

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, hollow is marked as figuratively, colloquial. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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