black hole

noun

1

: a celestial object that has a gravitational field so strong that light cannot escape it and that is believed to be created especially in the collapse of a very massive star

2

: something resembling a black hole: such as

a

: something that consumes a resource continually

a financial black hole

b

: an empty space : void

… the archives of the past few years are a black hole.

—David Herman

c

: a dark and seemingly inescapable state or situation

the black hole of depression

Synonyms of black hole

• emptiness
• vacancy
• void
• blank

Examples of black hole in a Sentence

discovered that there was a black hole in the library's collection with regard to her topic

Recent Examples on the Web

Supermassive black holes in distant galaxies can flare powerfully, appearing and then disappearing from view as well. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 6 Nov. 2026

Named after fast-flying birds, the telescope could quickly pivot to observe blink-and-you-miss-it cosmic events such as flaring black holes. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2026

The existence of supermassive black holes before the universe was even 1 billion years old is something that has puzzled astronomers since the JWST started spotting them in 2022. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 Nov. 2026

Much like the lead apron that the technician taking your X-ray at the hospital wears to protect themselves from the radiation, dust and gas that gathers near a supermassive black hole can block gamma rays from ever reaching Earth. — Yjan Gordon, The Conversation, 30 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for black hole

• bankroll
• bedroll
• borehole
• cajole
• catchpole
• charcoal
• condole
• control
• dipole
• downhole
• enroll
• extol

Kids Definition

black hole

noun

: an invisible region believed to exist in space having a very strong gravitational field and thought to be caused by the collapse of a star