hollow out
verb
hollowed out; hollowing out; hollows out
1
: to remove the inside of (something) : to make an empty space in (something)
The kids were hollowing out pumpkins.
a hollowed-out log
2
: to form (something) by digging or cutting the inside of something
Workers hollowed out a tunnel through the mountain.
Examples of hollow out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Financial markets were deregulated throughout the 1980s, supply chains were further internationalized, and public assets were privatized, hollowing out state capacity.
—
Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
An independent study modeling a $250,000 homestead exemption found that 85 cities would see their tax base so hollowed out that essential services such as police, road maintenance and flood infrastructure would be at risk, Florida League of Cities spokesperson Kelli Roerk said.
—Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 27 May 2026
The voting rights law that had helped a Black child from Baton Rouge become a congressman was about to be hollowed out.
—Anna Liss-Roy, Washington Post, 26 May 2026
The options were pretty limited there because the North had been hollowed out by policies that people would call Thatcherism or Reaganism here.
—Aisha Nyandoro, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for hollow out
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Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
An independent study modeling a $250,000 homestead exemption found that 85 cities would see their tax base so hollowed out that essential services such as police, road maintenance and flood infrastructure would be at risk, Florida League of Cities spokesperson Kelli Roerk said.
—Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 27 May 2026
The voting rights law that had helped a Black child from Baton Rouge become a congressman was about to be hollowed out.
—Anna Liss-Roy, Washington Post, 26 May 2026
The options were pretty limited there because the North had been hollowed out by policies that people would call Thatcherism or Reaganism here.
—Aisha Nyandoro, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for hollow out
Cite this Entry
“Hollow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hollow%20out. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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