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

Even a carriage horse at the foot of the ancient monument has joined in, sporting a brown bucket hat with holes cut for its ears. — ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026

Place the magnetic keys inside the frame’s hangers, then press it into the wall to create two perfect holes to add your hardware in exactly the right spot. — Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026

The three belugas that traveled to San Diego on Saturday were each placed on padded stretchers that featured small holes for their pectoral fins. — Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026

Since then, more suits across the country have followed, blowing huge holes into NCAA eligibility rules, new and old. — Justin Williams, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Haaland’s whole thing is to sort of explode out of nowhere to blow Valhalla-sized holes in the back of the net, a pattern that’s long been familiar to EPL enthusiasts. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Some teams, like the Angels and Rockies, have holes almost everywhere. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Canter was one over par through his first three holes before making nine birdies and six pars over his final 15 holes. — Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

These humble creatures can tread water for three days, leap four feet, and squeeze through holes as small as a quarter. — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 20 Aug. 2026

Verb

Upgrade a Laundry Room Vent holes in a laundry room might call to mind a traditional airing cupboard, but perhaps counterintuitively, that term actually refers to a heated cupboard for keeping towels dry rather than one in which air freely circulates. — Monika Biegler Eyers, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 June 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

How to Limit Attraction Sealing unwanted tiny cracks, gaps in doors or windows, or utility lines, and holes around the home is one of the best ways to prevent ants from gaining access in the first place. — Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 11 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