Synonyms of holes

holes 1 of 2

noun

plural of hole

1

as in apertures

a place in a surface allowing passage into or through a thing

line up the pegs on section A with the holes in section B and press the two together

Synonyms & Similar Words

• apertures
• openings
• crevices
• spaces
• slits
• orifices
• perforations
• cracks
• fissures
• slots
• loopholes
• tears
• punches
• gashes
• pores
• clefts
• vents
• punctures
• rifts
• notches
• outlets
• crannies
• mouths
• ruptures
• inlets
• slashes
• pinholes
• cuts
• splits
• chinks
• rents
• entrances
• breaches
• potholes
• intakes
• exits
• breaks
• airholes
• buttonholes
• keyholes
• knotholes
• peepholes
• wormholes
• pinpricks
• armholes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• patches
• seals
• plugs
• fillers
• fillings
• barriers
• obstacles
• obstructions
• fills
• stoppers
• blockages

2

as in pits

a sunken area forming a separate space

dig a hole big enough to plant the tree

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pits
• dents
• cavities
• ditches
• furrows
• trenches
• valleys
• hollows
• caverns
• indentations
• depressions
• caves
• pockets
• recesses
• alcoves
• basins
• bowls
• impressions
• craters
• concavities
• grooves
• burrows
• openings
• dimples
• dints
• excavations
• gutters
• sockets
• indentures
• troughs
• imprints
• clefts
• voids
• gouges
• wells
• nooks
• niches
• potholes
• boreholes
• sinkholes
• water holes
• notches
• abysses
• vacuums
• alveoli
• chasms
• postholes
• chuckholes
• vacuities
• wallows
• gulfs

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• projections
• protrusions
• protuberances
• bulges
• hills
• mounds
• tumors
• convexities
• rises
• cambers
• bumps
• juts
• humps
• swellings
• lumps
• pimples
• bunches
• swells

3

as in predicaments

a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape

Bill dug himself into a hole by promising to be in two places at the same time

Synonyms & Similar Words

• predicaments
• dilemmas
• pickles
• corners
• swamps
• binds
• jams
• rabbit holes
• boxes
• spots
• difficulties
• fixes
• impasses
• quagmires
• mires
• kettles of fish
• rattraps
• sticky wickets
• crises
• nodes
• jackpots
• plights
• hot waters
• troubles
• soups
• straits
• catch-22's
• scrapes
• pinches
• quandaries
• logjams
• emergencies
• deadlocks
• exigencies
• clutches
• crossroads
• standstills
• junctures
• stalemates
• halts

4

as in dumps

a dirty or messy place

when people see my room, they often ask, "How can you live in this hole?"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dumps
• sties
• messes
• pigsties
• pigpens
• hellholes
• shambles
• chaoses
• disorganizations
• disorders
• disarrays
• hells
• snake pits
• musses
• disarrangements
• havoc
• litters
• jumbles
• confusions
• clutters
• muddles
• mare's nests
• mishmashes
• welters

5

as in gaps

an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge)

found a hole in the chain-link fence big enough to squeeze through

Synonyms & Similar Words

• gaps
• crevices
• fissures
• openings
• voids
• rifts
• cracks
• slits
• intervals
• discontinuities
• interstices
• rents
• breaches
• breaks
• slots
• cavities
• separations
• clefts
• pores
• apertures
• fractures
• crannies
• hiatuses
• orifices
• notches
• interspaces
• splits
• gulfs
• chasms
• chinks
• ruptures
• gapes
• abysses
• severances

6

as in nests

the shelter or resting place of a wild animal

watched the snake slither into its hole

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nests
• burrows
• lairs
• houses
• dens
• lodges
• territories

holes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of hole

as in drills

to make a hole or series of holes in

holed the target with a round of shots

Synonyms & Similar Words

• drills
• pierces
• punches
• punctures
• pokes
• bores
• perforates
• riddles
• taps
• cuts
• penetrates
• pricks
• slits
• grooves
• breaks
• hollows
• splits
• broaches
• gouges
• notches
• excavates
• slashes
• burrows (into)
• ruptures
• prickles
• rends
• gashes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fills
• plugs
• seals
• patches

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of holes

Noun

Adrian Meronk of Poland, one of 22 players from LIV Golf in the field, birdied his opening four holes at Kingsbarns and had an eagle late in his round of 63. — ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

With several injuries piling up, the Panthers will need to patch some holes, regroup and find a way to get back in the win column. — Neil Nakahodo, Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2026

Offense has been hard to come by for Blashill’s team, so those early holes are steeper compared to others. — Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026

The island also houses over 200 blue holes (the highest concentration of sinkholes and cave systems in the world) that demand exploration, both in its forests and offshore anchor points. — Joey Skladany, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Sep. 2026

Pre-distressed holes reveal different swatches underneath, and the soles come looking scruffy just like on numerous hits from Vans over the past year or so. — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026

The screen will be placed on top of the arm, which connects to a round base with perforated speaker holes. — Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 30 Sep. 2026

The team behind the work has highlighted several potential holes. — ArsTechnica, 30 Sep. 2026

Inside the property, police found three bullet holes in a wooden fence obscured by tall hedges. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2026

Verb

What Skunk Burrows Look Like For a larger animal, holes that skunks dig while foraging are relatively small. — Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 24 Sep. 2026

Fill ruts, depressions, and holes with topsoil and either turf or plants. — Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Sep. 2026

Caulk holes around plumbing and sewer lines where roaches are likely to enter. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 4 June 2026

The flight attendants then attempted to solve the problem by shoving napkins inside the ceiling holes. — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 2 May 2026

Mirroring the 3-star wig cap structure, this wig featured three combs (left-side, right-side, nape), a drawstring, wig band insertion holes, and a 13×4 lace. — Noel Cymone Walker, StyleCaster, 1 Apr. 2026

The penetration holes indicate that the internal facility is likely bombed out, destroying anything that was inside. — CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026

But some backpacks are better for travel than others, perhaps designed with isolated shoe compartments, holes to feed your phone charging cable through, jewelry pouches, and special materials that simply wipe clean after picking up germs from public floors. — Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2026

The San Francisco 49ers head into free agency with roughly $38 million in salary-cap space — 11th most in the NFL — and holes all over their roster. — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026