Definition of 'black hole'

Word Frequency

black hole

Word forms: plural black holes

1. countable noun

Black holes are areas in space, where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from them. Black holes are thought to be formed by collapsed stars.

2. countable noun [usually singular]

If you say that something, especially money, has gone into a black hole, you mean that it has disappeared and cannot be recovered.

Word Frequency

black hole in British

astronomy

noun

an object in space so dense that its escape velocity exceeds the speed of light

any place regarded as resembling a black hole in that items or information entering it cannot be retrieved

Word Frequency

Black Hole in American

a small dungeon at Calcutta: it was once believed that over 100 Europeans were confined there one night in 1756 by their Indian captors and died from heat and lack of air

2. [b- h-]

any dungeon

Word Frequency

black hole in American

a celestial object or dark region in space, perhaps formed by the collapse of a large star, with such a great mass that its gravitational field will not let even light escape

an emptiness or void

anything thought of as endlessly devouring resources, funds, etc.

Example sentences containing 'black hole'

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The exit wound was huge, an appalling mash of skin and bone and an ugly black hole where the nose should have been. Robert Wilson THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS (2002)I fell into a black hole of guilt I hated Pia for being Dukey's sister. Shell, Ray ICED (2002)The black hole was an organ for the creation of infinite streams of light. Zindell, David THE BROKEN GOD (2002)

At the base, cut into the wall of the shaft, was a round black hole, the entrance to a tunnel. McKewan, Ian THE INNOCENT (2002)