What does "hollow" mean?
A small valley between mountains.
Hollow
/ˈhɒl.əʊ/ adj, adv, intj, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, intj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small valley between mountains.
- Grammar: hollow is listed as adj, adv, intj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: hole, absurd, abysm, abyss.
- Useful contrasts: farctate, ful, full answer.
- Usage evidence: Rain formed pools in the hollow spaces on the rocks.
How to use "hollow"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hollow" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hollow" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hollow" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hollow" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "hollow" is acting as adj, adv, intj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "hole" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "hollow", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small valley between mountains.
"He built himself a cabin in a hollow high up in the Rockies."
- 2 a depression hollowed out of solid matter wordnet
- 3 A sunken area on a surface.
"the hollow of the hand"
- 4 a small valley between mountains wordnet
- 5 An unfilled space in something solid; a cavity, natural or artificial.
"a hollow in a tree trunk"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 a cavity or space in something wordnet
- 7 A feeling of emptiness. figuratively
"a hollow in the pit of one’s stomach"
Verb
- 1 to make a hole in something; to excavate transitive
- 2 To call or urge by shouting; to hollo.
"[T]he Converſation (if it may be called ſo) was ſeldom ſuch as could entertain a Lady. It conſiſted chiefly of Hollowing, Singing, Relations of ſporting Adventures, B—d—y, and Abuſe of Women and of the Government."
- 3 remove the interior of wordnet
- 4 remove the inner part or the core of wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Having an empty space or cavity inside.
"a hollow tree; a hollow sphere"
- 2 Distant, eerie; echoing, reverberating, as if in a hollow space; dull, muffled; often low-pitched.
"He let out a hollow moan."
- 3 Without substance; having no real or significant worth; meaningless. figuratively
"a hollow victory"
- 4 Insincere, devoid of validity; specious. figuratively
"a hollow promise"
- 5 Concave; gaunt; sunken.
"To view with hollow eye and wrinkled brow"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Pertaining to hollow body position
- 7 Synonym of empty (“lacking between the onset of tasting and the finish”).
"While most 1974s remain hard, tannic, hollow wines lacking ripeness, flesh, and character, a number of the Graves estates did produce surprisingly spicy, interesting wines."
Adjective
- 1 lacking in substance or character wordnet
- 2 devoid of significance or force wordnet
- 3 as if echoing in a hollow space wordnet
- 4 not solid; having a space or gap or cavity wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Completely, as part of the phrase beat hollow or beat all hollow. colloquial, not-comparable
Intj
- 1 Alternative form of hollo. alt-of, alternative
Example
"Rain formed pools in the hollow spaces on the rocks."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hollow"?
Common synonyms include: hole, absurd, abysm, abyss, affected, alveolation.
How do you use "hollow" in a sentence?
Rain formed pools in the hollow spaces on the rocks.
How do you pronounce "hollow"?
Pronounced /ˈhɒl.əʊ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English holow, holowe, holwe, holwȝ, holgh, from Old English holh (“a hollow”), from Proto-West Germanic *holh, from Proto-Germanic *hulhwą, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱólḱwos. Cognate with Old High German huliwa and hulwa, Middle High German hülwe. Related to hole.
Etymology 2
From Middle English holowe, holwe, holuȝ, holgh, from the noun (see above).
Etymology 3
Compare holler.