HOLING UP Synonyms: 17 Similar and Opposite Words

holing up

verb

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

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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 To write, Rosales went off the grid, holing up in a cabin in the woods. — Myriam Gurba, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 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

That dream came to a screeching halt six years ago, when a sinkhole tore open that revealed an old mine lurking under Hideaway Hills -- forcing more than a dozen families to flee.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
Flanagan’s customary whip pans are here to surprise us with characters lurking outside the frame, but this isn’t a story with many external supernatural threats, and tension doesn’t build.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of lurking

Verb

The teens then ran from law enforcement before being found hiding in a nearby backyard, with one of the suspects being taken into custody with the assistance of a police dog.

— Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026
What about when Carole was hiding in the closet to try to overhear Luann calling her a pedophile, and Jules Wainstein kept trying to ruin her ruse?

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of hiding

Verb

Then the day came, two weeks before a drop-dead deadline on a final draft of a novel, when the pain was yelp-out-loud excruciating in any position other than lying flat on the floor, or standing.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026
Well, according to Artificial—Luca Guadagnino’s bold and bleak satire about the rise and rise of OpenAI—Sam Altman might have more than a little in common with the lying wooden puppet.

— Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of lying

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holing

holing up

holistic

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“Holing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holing%20up. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of holing up

verb

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