noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The open space in a floor, to accommodate a staircase.
2. 2
   The open space left beyond the ends of the steps of a staircase.

   "well-holes of the stairs and chimney"

3. 3
   A cavity which receives a counterbalancing weight in certain mechanical contrivances, and is adapted also for other purposes.

Example

More examples

"well-holes of the stairs and chimney"

Etymology

From well + hole.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.