hollow

American  

[hol-oh] / ˈhɒl oʊ /

adjective

hollower, hollowest

1. having a space or cavity inside; not solid; empty.

   a hollow sphere.

2. having a depression or concavity.

   a hollow surface.

3. sunken, as the cheeks or eyes.

4. (of sound) not resonant; dull, muffled, or deep.

   a hollow voice.

5. without real or significant worth; meaningless.

   a hollow victory.

   Synonyms:

   pointless, futile, empty, vain

6. insincere or false.

   hollow compliments.

7. hungry; having an empty feeling.

   I feel absolutely hollow, so let's eat.

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noun

1. an empty space within anything; a hole, depression, or cavity.

2. a valley.

   They took the sheep to graze in the hollow.

3. Foundry. a concavity connecting two surfaces otherwise intersecting at an obtuse angle.

verb (used with object)

1. to make hollow (often followed byout ).

   to hollow out a log.

2. to form by making something hollow (often followed byout ).

   to hollow a place in the sand;

   boats hollowed out of logs.

verb (used without object)

1. to become hollow.

adverb

1. in a hollow manner.

   The politician's accusations rang hollow.

idioms

1. beat all hollow, to surpass or outdo completely: Also beat hollow.

   His performance beat the others all hollow.

hollow British  

/ ˈhɒləʊ /

adjective

1. having a hole, cavity, or space within; not solid

2. having a sunken area; concave

3. recessed or deeply set

   hollow cheeks

4. (of sounds) as if resounding in a hollow place

5. without substance or validity

6. hungry or empty

7. insincere; cynical

8. the capacity to eat or drink a lot without ill effects

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adverb

1. informal to defeat someone thoroughly and convincingly

noun

1. a cavity, opening, or space in or within something

2. a depression or dip in the land

verb

1. to make or become hollow

2. to form (a hole, cavity, etc) or (of a hole, etc) to be formed

hollow More Idioms  

1. see beat the pants off (hollow).

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Other Word Forms

• half-hollow adjective
• hollowly adverb
• hollowness noun
• unhollow adjective
• unhollowed adjective

Etymology

Origin of hollow

First recorded before 900; Middle English holow, holw(e), Old English holh “a hollow place”; akin to hole

Example Sentences

A woman died after falling into a hollow in southern France during a cross-country ski excursion, rescue services said Sunday.

From Barron's

Patronage systems allocate jobs, public-works contracts, cheap loans and access to foreign cash, hollowing out the entrepreneurial class.

From The Wall Street Journal

The upper tends to address hooding and volume loss of the eyelid, while the lower focuses on puffiness and dark circles or hollowing under the eye, says Dr. Flora Levin, a Connecticut-based oculoplastic surgeon.

From The Wall Street Journal

The same platforms that amplify empathy also risk hollowing it out.

From The Wall Street Journal

I was a Senate staffer when he arrived in Washington, and I watched him learn the institution without letting it hollow him out.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• empty
• fruitless
• futile
• pointless
• useless
• worthless