hollowing (out)

verb

present participle of hollow (out)
as in scooping (out)

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hollowing (out)
  1. excavating
  2. shoveling
Verb
  • Abric Romaní has been explored continuously since 1983, so the team has had time to develop a method for excavating objects that are essentially empty space.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Energy companies might save substantial capital by tapping naturally occurring subterranean structures rather than excavating artificial caverns or modifying depleted reservoirs.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of excavating
Verb
  • Renminbi’s place in global central-bank reserve coffers has actually fallen since 2022, despite Beijing shoveling its currency into developing economies through central-bank swap lines.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Kenya’s President William Ruto and his counterparts from Uganda, Ethiopia, Togo, Benin and Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo led a ground breaking ceremony at the site, shoveling soil to show that work on the refinery has started.
    — Evelyne Musambi, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of shoveling
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.

Browse Nearby Words

hollowing
hollowing (out)
hollowness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hollowing (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hollowing%20%28out%29. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All