hollow out

phrasal 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

The group has slashed hundreds of thousands of jobs and hollowed out foreign aid programs. —Eric Jackson, Sportico.com, 8 Apr. 2025

Zoom out: Trump is right that plenty of countries engage in unfair trade practices, and that globalization has hollowed out key parts of America's industrial base, Axios' Zachary Basu reports. —Erica Pandey, Axios, 5 Apr. 2025

And all three have been hollowed out by mass layoffs at the agency ordered by President Trump and Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser leading the federal government’s cost-cutting efforts. —Zach Montague, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2025

The loss of essential, baseload coal power has hollowed out the foundation of America’s power supply. —Terry Jarrett, Boston Herald, 2 Apr. 2025

Rhymes for hollow out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout