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.

There is just a single borehole in Kigonze.

From Barron's • May 29, 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

The processes observed in the Yellowstone borehole may not be unique.

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

He looked familiar; perhaps he was one of the neighborhood boys who had fetched water at the borehole before dawn.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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