# hollow

Pronunciation: US say "HAH-loh" /ˈhɑ.loʊ/; UK say "HO-loh" /ˈhɒl.əʊ/

## Adjective

1. Containing a cavity or empty space within, rather than being solid throughout.
   - Simple: Empty inside, having a space or hole in the middle.
   - _The old oak had a hollow trunk where owls nested._
   - _Engineers prefer hollow beams because they save weight without losing strength._
2. Lacking real substance, value, or sincerity; empty of genuine meaning, as in a hollow victory or hollow promises.
   - Simple: Not real or sincere. Seeming important or true but actually empty or worthless.
   - _Without his friends there to celebrate, the promotion felt like a hollow achievement._
   - _The treaty proved a hollow gesture once both sides ignored its terms._
6. Describing a sound that is dull, muffled, and echoing, often low and eerie, as if made in an empty space.
   - Simple: Sounding deep, dull, and echoing, like a noise made in an empty room.
   - _A hollow groan echoed through the abandoned mineshaft._
   - _The bell's hollow toll carried across the foggy valley._
8. Sunken and curved inward, as with gaunt cheeks or tired, sunken eyes.
   - Simple: Sunken inward, like thin cheeks or very tired eyes.
   - _Months of hunger had left his face thin and hollow._
   - _The prisoner stared out with hollow, exhausted eyes._

## Verb

3. To make a hole in something; to dig or carve out its inside.
   - Simple: To make a hole or empty space inside something.
   - _Before carving the face, she used a big metal spoon to hollow the pumpkin._
   - _The river had hollowed the cliff into a series of caves._

## Noun

4. A sunken or dipped area on a surface.
   - Simple: A low or sunken spot on a surface.
   - _A shallow hollow in the field collected the morning mist._
   - _The old mattress had a hollow where he slept every night._
5. An empty space inside something solid; a cavity, whether natural or made.
   - Simple: An empty space or hole inside something solid.
   - _Smugglers had hidden the cash in a hollow carved inside the statue's base._
   - _The carpenter filled the hollow in the beam with epoxy._
7. A small valley lying between hills or mountains.
   - Simple: A small valley between hills or mountains.
   - _The trail wound down into a quiet hollow shaded by old hemlocks._
   - _Fog settled in the hollow long after the ridges had cleared._
9. A sense of emptiness felt inside oneself.
   - Simple: A sad, empty feeling inside you.
   - _A deep hollow opened inside him when the news finally sank in._
   - _Years later, the loss still left a hollow she could not name._

## Adverb

10. Completely or thoroughly, occurring only in the phrase beat hollow (or beat all hollow). *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Completely or totally, used in the phrase beat hollow.
   - _The veterans beat the rookies hollow in the opening scrimmage._
   - _His homemade pie beat the store-bought ones all hollow._

## Interjection

11. Another spelling of hollo: a dated shout used to get someone's attention or say hello. *(dated)* — Alternative form of hollo.
   - Simple: Another way of writing hollo. It is an old shout used to call out or get someone's attention.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Relating to the hollow body position in gymnastics, a tightened, slightly rounded posture with the core engaged.
- (adjective) Of a wine or drink, lacking flavor in the middle of the palate, between the first taste and the finish.
- (verb) To call out or urge on by shouting.

## Origin

**Meanings 3–5, 7, 9** — From Middle English 'holow', from Old English 'holh' ('a hollow'), which came through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic, perhaps ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root. It is related to 'hole'.
**Meanings 1–2, 6, 8, 10** — From Middle English 'holowe', formed from the noun 'hollow' described above.
**Meaning 11** — A form of hollo, a shout used to call or urge on, and related to holler.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hollow (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).