sinkhole
Americannoun
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a hole formed in soluble rock by the action of water, serving to conduct surface water to an underground passage.
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Also called sink. a depressed area in which waste or drainage collects.
noun
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Also called (esp Brit): swallow hole. a depression in the ground surface, esp in limestone, where a surface stream disappears underground
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a place into which foul matter runs
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A natural depression in a land surface formed by the dissolution and collapse of a cavern roof. Sinkholes are roughly funnel-shaped and on the order of tens of meters in size. They generally occur in limestone regions and are connected to subteranean passages.
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Also called sink
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See more at karst topography
Etymology
Origin of sinkhole
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at sink, hole
Explanation
A sinkhole is a dent or dip in the ground that's caused by a collapsing surface. Most sinkholes result from erosion. Water is basically what causes sinkholes; certain kinds of rock naturally dissolve over time from being repeatedly saturated, and the result can be a depression or sunken spot in the ground. Some underground caverns and caves are the result of sinkholes. Human-caused collapses are often referred to as sinkholes too. These occur when unused mines collapse, or in urban environments where water or sewer pipes leak and cause concrete above them to crack and sink.
Vocabulary lists containing sinkhole
Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science - High School
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Earth Science - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A massive sinkhole nearly 30 feet deep swallowed his backyard, coming within 3 feet of the house.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
They were also astonished to discover a massive, vertical sinkhole called a blue hole, 75km south of a bank called Grand Turk, that formed when a cave collapsed inwards.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
Bundy and the mayor led a driving tour of the shattered coastline, stopping at one property where the destruction of a home revealed a sea wall below with a pre-existing sinkhole.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026
A major incident has been declared over what police have called a sinkhole at a canal in Shropshire, leaving boats either stricken in a gaping cavity or teetering on the edge of a drop.
From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025
“You didn’t get hurt in all that sinkhole business?”
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
