holing up

present participle of hole up
as in lurking
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 holing up Amir and Miri share their memories of holing up in a lightless, airless concrete room with two children under the age of 5, trying desperately to remain quiet. Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2025 Now teens were holing up in garages across America in an attempt to create their own versions of the Fab Four. Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025 And at the very least, Damour said, kids won’t get a chance to develop the habit of holing up in their bedroom with their phone and never coming out. Rheana Murray, The Atlantic, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holing up
Verb
  • Their debut album, Forever, sounds like temporarily regressing to your childhood self while tripping—a kind of gleaming innocence desperately fending off the darkness of adulthood lurking at the periphery.
    Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 6 Nov. 2025
  • The Longhorns, Sooners, Miami and USC are among some of the higher-profile teams lurking on the fringe of the bracket, while schools such as Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Utah could still find a way to crash the party.
    Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • This mismatch between perception and reality has real consequences, fueling the notion that higher education as a whole is elitist and out of touch, hiding the work of the colleges that educate millions of working- and middle-class families.
    Yolanda Watson Spiva, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Then keep scrolling to shop more of the best pieces hiding in Pottery Barn’s outlet now.
    Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The defining image of this exact fixture back in February was Szoboszlai lying face-down on the pitch at full time of Liverpool’s 2-0 away win, utterly spent.
    Andy Jones, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • But in 1991, federal agents charged him with lying and continuing to traffic drugs.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Holing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holing%20up. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.

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