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Webster 1913 Edition

Hollow

Hol′low

,
Adj.
[OE.
holow
,
holgh
,
holf
, AS.
holh
a hollow, hole. Cf.
Hole
.]
1.
Having an empty space or cavity, natural or artificial, within a solid substance; not solid; excavated in the interior;
as, a
hollow
tree; a
hollow
sphere.
Hollow
with boards shalt thou make it.
Ex. xxvii. 8.
2.
Depressed; concave; gaunt; sunken.
With
hollow
eye and wrinkled brow.
Shakespeare
3.
Reverberated from a cavity, or resembling such a sound; deep; muffled;
as, a
hollow
roar
.
Dryden.
4.
Not sincere or faithful; false; deceitful; not sound;
as, a
hollow
heart; a
hollow
friend.
Milton.
Syn.- Concave; sunken; low; vacant; empty; void; false; faithless; deceitful; treacherous.

Hol′low

,
Noun.
1.
A cavity, natural or artificial; an unfilled space within anything; a hole, a cavern; an excavation; as the hollow of the hand or of a tree.
2.
A low spot surrounded by elevations; a depressed part of a surface; a concavity; a channel.
Forests grew
Upon the barren
hollows
.
Prior.
I hate the dreadful
hollow
behind the little wood.
Tennyson.

Hol′low

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Hollowed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Hollowing
.]
To make hollow, as by digging, cutting, or engraving; to excavate.
“Trees rudely hollowed.”
Dryden.

Hol′low

,
adv.
Wholly; completely; utterly; – chiefly after the verb to beat, and often with all;
as, this story beats the other all
hollow
. See
All
,
adv.
[Colloq.]
The more civilized so-called Caucasian races have beaten the Turks
hollow
in the struggle for existence.
Darwin.

Hol-low′

,
int
erj.
[See
Hollo
.]
Hollo.

Hol′low

,
Verb.
I.
To shout; to hollo.
Whisperings and
hollowings
are alike to a deaf ear.
Fuller.

Hol′low

,
Verb.
T.
To urge or call by shouting.
He has
hollowed
the hounds.
Sir W. Scott.
Syn. – Faithless; dishonest; false; treacherous.

Webster 1828 Edition

Hollow

HOL'LOW

, a.
1.
Containing an empty space, natural or artificial, within a solid substance; not solid; as a hollow tree; a hollow rock; a hollow sphere.
Hollow with boards shalt thou make it. Ex.27.
2.
Sunk deep in the orbit; as a hollow eye.
3.
Deep; low; resembling sound reverberated from a cavity, or designating such a sound; as a hollow roar.
4.
Not sincere or faithful; false; deceitful; not sound; as a hollow heart; a hollow friend.
Hollow spar, the mineral called also chiastolite.

HOL'LOW

,
Noun.
A cavity, natural or artificial; any depression of surface in a body; concavity; as the hollow of the hand.
1.
A place excavated; as the hollow of a tree.
2.
A cave or cavern; a den; a hole; a broad open space in any thing.
3.
A pit.
4.
Open space of any thing; a groove; a channel; a canal.

HOL'LOW

,
Verb.
T.
To make hollow, as by digging, cutting, or engraving; to excavate.
Trees rudely hollowed did the waves sustain.

HOL'LOW

,
Verb.
I.
To shout. [See Holla and Hollo.]

Definition 2024

hollow

hollow

English

Alternative forms

  • holler (nonstandard: dialectal, especially Southern US)

Adjective

hollow ‎(comparative hollower, superlative hollowest)

  1. (of something solid) Having an empty space or cavity inside.
    a hollow tree; a hollow sphere
  2. (of a sound) Distant, eerie; echoing, reverberating, as if in a hollow space; dull, muffled; often low-pitched.
    a hollow moan
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)
  3. (figuratively) Without substance; having no real or significant worth; meaningless.
    a hollow victory
  4. (figuratively) Insincere, devoid of validity; specious.
    a hollow promise
  5. Depressed; concave; gaunt; sunken.
    • Shakespeare
      With hollow eye and wrinkled brow.
  1. (gymnastics) pertaining to hollow body position
Derived terms
Translations

Adverb

hollow ‎(not comparable)

  1. (colloquial) Completely, as part of the phrase beat hollow or beat all hollow.

Etymology 2

Middle English holow, earlier holgh, from Old English holh ‎(“a hollow”)', from hol ‎(“hollow (adj.)”). See above.

Noun

hollow ‎(plural hollows)

  1. A small valley between mountains; a low spot surrounded by elevations.
    • Prior
      Forests grew upon the barren hollows.
    • Tennyson
      I hate the dreadful hollow behind the little wood.
    He built himself a cabin in a hollow high up in the Rockies.
  2. A sunken area or unfilled space in something solid; a cavity, natural or artificial.
    the hollow of the hand or of a tree
  3. (US) A sunken area.
  4. (figuratively) A feeling of emptiness.
    a hollow in the pit of one's stomach
  5. One who has lost their purpose, their motivation to live.
    Oh, you... You're no Hollow, eh?
Translations

Verb

hollow ‎(third-person singular simple present hollows, present participle hollowing, simple past and past participle hollowed)

  1. to make a hole in something; to excavate (transitive)

Etymology 3

Compare holler.

Verb

hollow ‎(third-person singular simple present hollows, present participle hollowing, simple past and past participle hollowed)

  1. To urge or call by shouting; to hollo.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      He has hollowed the hounds.

Interjection

hollow

  1. Alternative form of hollo

Etymology

Middle English holw, holh, from Old English hol ‎(“hollow”), from Proto-Germanic *hulaz (compare Dutch hol, German hohl, Danish hul), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱówHilo- (compare Albanian thellë ‎(“deep”), Ancient Greek κοῖλος ‎(koîlos, “hollow”), Avestan [script needed] ‎(sūra, “hole, gap”)[script needed], Sanskrit कुल्या ‎(kulyā, “brook, ditch”)), from *ḱówH- ‎(“cavity”). More at cave.

Pronunciation

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