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

In Moray, borehole supplies from the River Spey are being boosted by pumping water directly from the river to maintain normal levels.

From BBC ● May 15, 2025

This wasn’t the water that the workers had been piping into the borehole.

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

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