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borehole

American

[bawr-hohl, bohr-] / ˈbɔrˌhoʊl, ˈboʊr- /

noun

Mining.

a hole drilled in the earth, as for the purpose of extracting a core, releasing gas, oil, water, etc.

borehole British

/ ˈbɔːˌhəʊl /

noun

a hole driven into the ground to obtain geological information, release water, etc

"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

Etymology

Origin of borehole

First recorded in 1700–10; bore ² + hole

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.

See Examples For:

borehole

There is just a single borehole in Kigonze.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

Which of course, he can because he has a water filter pump to access this groundwater reserve through the borehole.

From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026

To understand how seismic activity influenced this hidden ecosystem, the researchers collected water samples from a nearly 100-meter deep borehole located along the western edge of Yellowstone Lake.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2025

"When I'm out with friends and family I'm always saying 'there's a borehole there' and nobody would know it."

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2025

Water had to be flowing constantly into the borehole to keep the drill running smoothly.

From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023