holed up

Definition of holed upnext
past tense of hole up
as in hid
to remain out of sight we'll hole up in the cellar and wait out the hurricane

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 holed up Klæbo acknowledged that some of his race-winning efforts exhausted him, including one that left him holed up in his hotel room playing video games the day afterward. Nathaniel Herz, NPR, 21 Feb. 2026 Nineteen students and two teachers died in the shooting nearly four years ago, with police officers waiting 77 minutes to confront the gunman as he was holed up inside a double classroom with students and teachers. Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 21 Jan. 2026 A lot of it was just that — holed up in a house. Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 28 Dec. 2025 The man, who was not named, holed up for at least three hours inside the house as sheriff’s deputies waited outside for a SWAT team to arrive. Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 22 Dec. 2025 They were holed up there for nearly a month and stayed largely in their room, staff said Thursday, before returning to Sydney where they are accused of killing 15 people at a beachside Hanukkah event. Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 18 Dec. 2025 Manila — The father and son suspected of carrying out Sunday’s Bondi Beach massacre holed up in a hotel for most of their almost month-long stay in the Philippines in November, rarely left their rooms and dined on fast food, a hotel employee told CNN. Jinky Jorgio, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025 Churches and volunteers across the city collected and delivered food to families holed up at home. Jim Morrill, Charlotte Observer, 11 Dec. 2025 Agnes goes to check in on Nora, who’s struggled with depression for years and has recently holed up in her apartment with no contact. Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holed up
lurked
Verb
  • Leonard lurked in the background of the All-Star hubbub, leaving his noise on the court as the only routine Ingram could watch.
    Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Expecting to find traces of the past in the old town of Regensburg, at first, archaeologists believed nothing that exciting lurked here.
    Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 8 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Holed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holed%20up. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.

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