black hole

noun

Definition of black holenext
as in emptiness
empty space discovered that there was a black hole in the library's collection with regard to her topic

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of black hole The star is zipping around the black hole, reaching speeds of about 15,534 miles per second. — Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026 The new findings represent a major step forward in understanding the life cycles of radio galaxies, and also how supermassive black holes function as the engines powering jets that drive vast radio lobes. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 Aug. 2026 Wi-Fi’s origins trace back, in part, to a team of Australian radio astronomers trying to detect signals from evaporating black holes. — IEEE Spectrum, 20 Aug. 2026 The Milky Way galaxy is anchored by a supermassive black hole named Sagittarius A*, that has a mass over four million times greater than the sun. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for black hole
Recent Examples of Synonyms for black hole
  1. emptiness
  2. vacancy
  3. void
  4. blank
Noun
  • The problem isn’t the characterization, since the surgeon is extremely well drawn and Văncică’s performance picks up on both the overall inner emptiness and the yearning for something more.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026
  • If the early universe obeyed this rule, our modern cosmos would be devoid of substance, just energy fields rippling eternally through emptiness.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of emptiness
Noun
  • By my count, 16 of the 28 storefronts lining the glossy pedestrian speedway are empty — a 57 percent vacancy rate.
    — Anne Kadet, Curbed, 24 Aug. 2026
  • One data center company, Aligned, is tearing down four high-vacancy office buildings in town, including the former ADP payroll building, to build new data center space.
    — Alex Nitkin, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of vacancy
Noun
  • But his sudden death on July 11 due to an aortic tear created a void.
    — Terry Collins, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
  • In Wolf’s Belly, Little Red Riding Hood and Grandmother find themselves in a magical void with other fairytale characters that the wolf has gobbled up, including the Boy who Cried Wolf and a fourth Little Pig.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of void
Noun
  • In the meantime, former staff is filling in the blanks left by the missing report.
    — Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 21 Aug. 2026
  • There had been a portrait that may have depicted the real-life Billy, and it could have been used, but Ondaatje was advised by his poet friend bpNichol to leave the space blank.
    — Amitava Kumar, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of blank

Browse Nearby Words

blackheads
black hole
black holes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Black hole.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/black%20hole. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on black hole

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about black hole

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of kith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All