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

• blank
• blankness
• emptiness
• vacancy
• vacuity
• void

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

Don’t let service issues disappear into a black hole of departments. —Jesper With-Fogstrup, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025

In reality, most, if not all, black holes are thought to spin, and usually scattering events precede an eventual merger. —Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 13 May 2025

The three new sonifications feature data from multiple celestial objects, each representing different aspects, or developmental stages, of black holes, according to a statement from NASA. —Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 12 May 2025

What might destroy us is our own fear, not just of the other who is a neighbor and a stranger but also of ourselves, of that black hole of abiding mysteries within us that so many of us cannot solve on our own. —Viet Thanh Nguyễn, Time, 28 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1964, 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