manhole

[ man-hohl ]

/ ˈmænˌhoʊl /

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noun

a hole, usually with a cover, through which a person may enter a sewer, drain, steam boiler, etc., especially one located in a city street.

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Origin of manhole

First recorded in 1785–95; man + hole

Words nearby manhole

Manhattan District, Manhattanite, Manhattan Project, manhelper, Manhire, manhole, manhood, manhood suffrage, man-hour, manhunt, Mani

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use manhole in a sentence

He had been pulled into the drainage system and emerged out of a manhole.
Storm Drains Keep Swallowing People During Floods|by Topher Sanders|December 9, 2021|ProPublica
Attaching the nodes to manhole covers meant maintenance crews could access them easily.
One city’s fight to solve its sewage problem with sensors|Andrew Zaleski|April 28, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Until the sensor network was put in place, a pair of city workers in South Bend used to drive around once a week, lift up manhole covers, and peer down, using nothing but their eyes to estimate how fast the sewage was flowing.
One city’s fight to solve its sewage problem with sensors|Andrew Zaleski|April 28, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Hot crude and oily waste bubbled up from underground, filled an apartment building basement, oozed out of manhole covers and buckled sidewalks.
Are California Oil Companies Complying With the Law? Even Regulators Often Don’t Know.|by Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun|March 22, 2021|ProPublica

The man climbs out of a manhole, as if sneaking into her dream.
All the Marvel Clues You Missed in WandaVision's First Two Episodes|Eliana Dockterman|January 15, 2021|Time
One of the primary reasons the FMCSA gave for the shutdown was the manhole cover incident.
The Government’s Cheap, Dishonest Campaign Against the Chinatown Bus Industry|Jim Epstein|November 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
From the modern chastity belt to a bag that disguises as a manhole, Soraya Roberts on the growing trend of protective fashion.
From the Anti-Rape Bra to Chastity Belts: How Women Use Clothing for Protection|Soraya Roberts|June 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She also designed an emergency "manhole bag," a flat purse that could be thrown on the ground to double as a sewer.
From the Anti-Rape Bra to Chastity Belts: How Women Use Clothing for Protection|Soraya Roberts|June 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The only escape available to him appears in the form of a manhole, through which he escapes underground.
American Nightmare: Ralph Ellison’s ‘Invisible Man’ at 60|Nathaniel Rich|June 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I didn't see the open manhole that the workmen had figured would be all right at that time of night.
The Holes and John Smith|Edward W. Ludwig
But the platform at the manhole entrance jutted diagonally below him, fifteen feet down and twelve along the bellying curve.
The Great Dome on Mercury|Arthur Leo Zagat
Then he began to cry, resting his head on his arms, that were crossed in front of the manhole of the kayak.
The Popular Science Monthly, October, 1900|Various
By the way, did you happen to notice whuther the slat top to that cistern o' hers was over the manhole?
The Brass Bound Box|Evelyn Raymond
A word of command—farewell to the bright blue sky overhead—the black manhole cover is replaced.
The Modern Railroad|Edward Hungerford

British Dictionary definitions for manhole

manhole

/ (ˈmænˌhəʊl) /

noun

Also called: inspection chamber a shaft with a removable cover that leads down to a sewer or drain

a hole, usually with a detachable cover, through which a man can enter a boiler, tank, 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