bolt-hole

[ bohlt-hohl ]

/ ˈboʊltˌhoʊl /

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noun

a hole in the ground, protected opening in bushes, etc., into which an animal can flee when pursued or frightened.

a place or avenue of escape or refuge: The remote mountain village was a safe bolt-hole for refugees during the war.

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Origin of bolt-hole

First recorded in 1830–40

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bolt-hole in a sentence

He scuttled through the tortuous windings of the burrow, and through a bolt-hole to the open air.
Lives of the Fur Folk|M. D. Haviland
A bolt-hole should be of a size to enable the bolt to be pushed in, or, at any rate, not more than gently tapped in.
The Aeroplane Speaks|H. Barber
There are the two holes at the ends where the doors turned on their pivots, and the bolt-hole in the middle.
Rambles in Rome|S. Russell Forbes
When she comes out again it is as a rabbit comes from a bolt-hole when a ferret is just behind.
A Poor Man's House|Stephen Sydney Reynolds

One of these billets was split, and a splinter of curious shape had partially entered a bolt hole.
The Pit Prop Syndicate|Freeman Wills Crofts

British Dictionary definitions for bolt-hole

bolt hole

noun

a place of escape from danger

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012