foxhole

[foks-hohl]

See more synonyms for foxhole on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small pit, usually for one or two soldiers, dug as a shelter in a battle area.

Origin of foxhole

First recorded in 1915–20; fox + hole

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for foxhole

Contemporary Examples

[He tears off the tape] They stole into my foxhole at night and covered my face with Scotch tape.
Mel Brooks Is Always Funny and Often Wise in This 1975 Playboy Interview
Alex Belth
February 16, 2014
But what if a soldier had my book in their foxhole: would they curse me or thank me?
Tom Reiss: How I Write
Noah Charney
August 14, 2013
Some colleagues viewed him as “calm, friendly, collected, a foxhole type of guy.”
Bill Allen: Tipper Gore’s Secretive New Beau
Sandra McElwaine
July 6, 2012
So he would go from foxhole to foxhole and, by any means, would get his men to fight.
Rex Ryan: The NFL's Most Outspoken Coach
Marlow Stern
May 14, 2011
Instead, we'll talk about the group shower, unit cohesion, foxhole flirtation.
What Don't Ask, Don't Tell Protects
Brendan Tapley
December 4, 2010

Historical Examples

A grenade had come flying into the foxhole where Dane and Harding had felt reasonably safe.
Dead Ringer
Lester del Rey
With morning he was half a mile away, in a foxhole less than sixty yards from the massive outer perimeter of the arena.
Stalemate
Basil Eugene Wells
The foxhole had two entrances, both well-concealed, and he had rigged elaborate warning devices should the vicinity be approached.
Stalemate
Basil Eugene Wells
The shower of rock is somewhat reminiscent of Ungava's meteor spray or splintered debris forced down a soldier's foxhole.
The Land of Look Behind
Paul Cameron Brown
And while an officer wouldn't be expected to pitch a tent, he would dig his own foxhole, unless he was well up in grade.
The Armed Forces Officer
U. S. Department of Defense

British Dictionary definitions for foxhole

foxhole

noun

military a small pit dug during an action to provide individual shelter against hostile fire

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

Word Origin and History for foxhole

n.

also fox-hole, Old English fox-hol "a fox's den," from fox (n.) + hole (n.). Military sense is from World War I.

foxhole

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}foxhole

Examples from the Web for foxhole

Contemporary Examples

[He tears off the tape] They stole into my foxhole at night and covered my face with Scotch tape.

But what if a soldier had my book in their foxhole: would they curse me or thank me?

Some colleagues viewed him as “calm, friendly, collected, a foxhole type of guy.”

So he would go from foxhole to foxhole and, by any means, would get his men to fight.

Instead, we'll talk about the group shower, unit cohesion, foxhole flirtation.

Historical Examples

A grenade had come flying into the foxhole where Dane and Harding had felt reasonably safe.

With morning he was half a mile away, in a foxhole less than sixty yards from the massive outer perimeter of the arena.

The foxhole had two entrances, both well-concealed, and he had rigged elaborate warning devices should the vicinity be approached.

The shower of rock is somewhat reminiscent of Ungava's meteor spray or splintered debris forced down a soldier's foxhole.

And while an officer wouldn't be expected to pitch a tent, he would dig his own foxhole, unless he was well up in grade.

foxhole

Word Origin and History for foxhole

n.

Origin of foxhole