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# hollow

«hollow» in Mova's school dictionary: **empty inside, with a space in it** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (hollow, hollower, hollowest); noun (a hollow, hollows); verb (hollow out, hollows out, hollowed out, hollowing out)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Hollow means empty inside, with a space in it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#m1)

2) A hollow is a hole in something, or a small low place in the ground. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#m2)

3) To hollow out something is to make a hole or space inside it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#m3)

4) Hollow can mean not sincere or not true, like a hollow promise. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#m4)

5) A hollow sound is deep and empty-sounding, as if it comes from an empty space. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons birds' bones are hollow, so they are light for flying; a hollow tree trunk can be a home for owls and squirrels. In music, hollow instruments make sound echo. At Halloween people hollow out pumpkins. In stories a hollow sound or a hollow laugh. Phrases: hollow tree, hollow out, hollow promise, hollow sound.

### examples

- The owl lives in a hollow tree. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#x1)
- Birds have hollow bones. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#x2)
- Tap the box — it sounds hollow. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#x3)
- We hollowed out a pumpkin for Halloween. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#x4)
- Rain collected in a hollow in the ground. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#x5)
- A chocolate egg is hollow inside. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#x6)
- His promise sounded hollow. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#x7)
- There is nothing in you; you are hollow and empty. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/#x8)

### note

Spelling: double l, ends in -ow. Opposite: solid. A hollow object can be strong and light — that is why tubes and bones are hollow. In maths, a hollow box (open or closed) has surface area but encloses empty space.

### In the corpora

- [The didgeridoo comes from Aboriginal Australians of northern Australia, traditionally made from a branch hollowed by termites; skilled players use circular breathing.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/10-instruments-of-the-world-bandura-erhu-sitar-kora-didgeridoo/10/)
- [Snap a chicken bone from Sunday dinner and it is hollow, with thin struts inside like a bridge, light but strong.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight/2/)
- [Many bird bones are hollow, with thin crossing struts, and some are filled with air connected to the lungs.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight/6/)
- [The largest fliers ever, pterosaurs like Quetzalcoatlus, had wings about 10 metres across but were light, with hollow bones.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/146-shrek-s-dragon-real-dragons-and-lizards/14/)
- [Polar bear skin is black and its fur is made of see-through hollow hairs that look white because they scatter light.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/169-the-arctic-ocean-walruses-bowheads-the-400-year-shark-and-the-unicorns-tooth/10/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «hollow» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hollow/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.