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

Examples of black hole in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But the series lacks the perspective to consider anything outside of this black hole of anguish. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Mar. 2024 Store your laptop in one of the two main compartments, and your valuables in the roomy center zip pocket, which also divides the bag and prevents it from being a black hole. Paula Lee, Glamour, 26 Feb. 2024 These wrinkles, called gravitational waves, travel through the universe at the speed of light and carry information about the epic cosmic phenomena that created them, such as massive collisions between two black holes, two neutron stars or one of each. Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Jan. 2024 Share [Findings] Terrestrial bacteria can grow on extraterrestrial nutrients; the black hole nearest Earth was discovered in the constellation Telescopium; and X-ray experiments conducted at the European Synchrotron indicated that moisture is destroying The Scream. Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2024 In reality, revenue generated by these taxes disappears into the black hole of the general budget and goes to whatever pressure group has the most influence at city hall. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2024 In the 12 months following that paper, scientists have listened to the close encounters between supermassive black holes, demonstrated the power of new weight loss drugs and brought to market life-changing gene therapies for sickle cell disease. F.d. Flam, Twin Cities, 2 Jan. 2024 Astronomers find a shockingly ancient black hole the size of 12 billion suns The light emitted by this quasar is 20,000 times as intense as that of the Milky Way galaxy, Wolf said. Jennifer Hassan, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2024 Pulsar timing arrays have recently announced evidence for hearing the bass section from supermassive black holes throughout the universe. Popular Science, 7 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'black hole.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of black hole was in 1964

Dictionary Entries Near black hole

Cite this Entry

“Black hole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/black%20hole. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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

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