bolt-hole
Americannoun
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a hole in the ground, protected opening in bushes, etc., into which an animal can flee when pursued or frightened.
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a place or avenue of escape or refuge.
The remote mountain village was a safe bolt-hole for refugees during the war.
noun
Etymology
Origin of bolt-hole
First recorded in 1830–40
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.
One of the first, exclusive members-only social clubs, Soho House debuted in London in 1995 and quickly became the bolt-hole of choice for celebrities and the deep-pocketed.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2026
The capsule is believed to have fallen out of the sensor, through the bolt-hole, onto the surface of the truck, and bounced off into the road.
From New York Times • Jan. 28, 2023
Massimo went off with Mandy to her family bolt-hole in the Caribbean, Billy held a dinner party which was a qualified success.
From The New Yorker • May 18, 2015
On Friday, Swedish prosecutors reversed their long refusal to question Assange inside his London bolt-hole, citing the five-year statute of limitations on some of the allegations against him.
From Washington Post • Mar. 13, 2015
Covered with mud from whatever bolt-hole she’d found, but alive nonetheless.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
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.
