holes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of hole.

   Moths had left small holes across the woolen blanket.

   The road crew filled the holes left by the winter frost.

   Note

   A regular plural, adding -s to the noun, and it carries every meaning the singular does. In golf it counts two things at once: the cups themselves and the stretches of play that end in them, so a round of eighteen holes means both. Chess players speak of holes too, for squares no friendly pawn can ever guard. The same spelling also serves the verb's present tense, as when a golfer holes a putt.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of hole.

   The golfer holes a long putt to take the lead on the final green.

   Steady water pressure eventually holes the aging pipe.

   Note

   The form a single third-person subject takes in the present: it holes, she holes. Most of the verb's meanings need an object. A drill holes a sheet, and a player holes the ball on a golf green or a billiard table. A broader use stretches to destroying something outright. One meaning stands alone, though: an animal that holes simply goes into a hole, with nothing after the verb.

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