holy

Less common meanings

4. 4
   adjectivecolloquial

   Placed before a noun as an intensifier, with the sense of total, utter, or dreadful.

   The project turned into a holy mess once the client changed the plans for the third time.

   Our new puppy has been a holy terror, chewing every shoe in the house.

   UsageComes before a noun, mostly a holy terror or a holy mess; a holy terror is most often an unruly child.

   Similarutter, total, absolute, complete

   Note

   The intensifier turns a sacred word on its head, amplifying chaos instead of reverence. Unlike holy in exclamations such as holy cow, it sits inside a sentence rather than standing alone as an outburst.

5. 5
   inner shrinenoun

   Something extremely holy, used almost exclusively in the expression 'Holy of Holies.'

   Each year the high priest passed beyond the veil into the Holy of Holies.

   Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement.

   Note

   A noun now heard almost only in one phrase, Holy of Holies. The phrase forms a superlative by setting the word beside its own plural: the holiest of all holy things. It names the innermost sanctuary of the Israelite tabernacle and temple. Franz von Reber's History of Ancient Art (1871; English translation 1882) describes the tabernacle's as a cube ten cubits on each side. Outside that phrase, the noun is archaic. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Holy of Holies is a superlative construction expressing the highest degree of holiness. en.wikipedia.org
   • Holy of Holies names the inner sanctuary of the Israelite tabernacle and temple. en.wikipedia.org
   • Franz von Reber wrote History of Ancient Art, originally published in 1871 and translated into English in 1882. en.wikipedia.org
   • Reber's book describes the tabernacle's Holy of Holies as a cube ten cubits on each side. gutenberg.org
6. 6
   wowinterjectionslang

   An exclamation uttered to express sudden astonishment and awe.

   Holy! The whole sky lit up with fireworks.

   She peered over the cliff edge and breathed, 'Holy.'

   Similarwow, whoa, gosh, jeez

   Note

   Said on its own, holy works as a complete exclamation, as if the noun that usually follows had simply been left off. It is slang, at home in speech and written dialogue. Its fuller synonym is holy shit, and the bare form carries the same astonishment without the swearword. Compare the intensifier in holy cow, where the noun is still present.