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

These results are in line with previous infrared observations of quasars, feeding supermassive black holes that glow brightly due to vast emissions of energy from material surrounding the black hole. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 Nov. 2025

The latest crisis to hit the government comes ahead of a budget announcement on November 26, when Labour – in order to fill a fiscal black hole – is expected to break a key election pledge by increasing the basic rate of income tax for the first time in half a century. —Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 12 Nov. 2025

My pep talks, which had snapped me out of any funk previously, disappeared into the black hole that was my current state of mind. —Liza Esquibias, PEOPLE, 10 Nov. 2025

Part of that gas gets slingshotted away, while the rest spirals into the black hole, heating up and glowing extremely bright. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 9 Nov. 2025

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