5 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe a statement, situation, or person as hollow , you mean they have no real value, worth, or effectiveness. □ Any threat to bring in the police is a hollow one. ● hol|low|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] One month before the deadline we see the hollowness of these promises.
6 ADJ [ADJ n] If someone gives a hollow laugh, they laugh in a way that shows that they do not really find something amusing. □ Murray Pick's hollow laugh had no mirth in it.
7 ADJ [ADJ n] A hollow sound is dull and echoing. □ …the hollow sound of a gunshot.
8 VERB [usu passive] If something is hollowed , its surface is made to curve inwards or downwards. □ [be V -ed] The mule's back was hollowed by the weight of its burden. □ [V -ed] …her high, elegantly hollowed cheekbones.
hol|ly /hɒ li/ (hollies ) N‑VAR Holly is an evergreen tree or shrub which has hard, shiny leaves with sharp points, and red berries in winter.
Hol|ly|wood /hɒ liwʊd/ N‑PROPER [oft N n] You use Hollywood to refer to the American film industry that is based in Hollywood, California. □ …a major Hollywood studio.
holo|caust /hɒ ləkɔːst/ (holocausts )
1 N‑VAR A holocaust is an event in which there is a lot of destruction and many people are killed, especially one caused by war. □ A nuclear holocaust seemed a very real possibility in the '50s.
2 N‑SING The Holocaust is used to refer to the killing by the Nazis of millions of Jews during the Second World War.
holo|gram /hɒ ləgræm/ (holograms ) N‑COUNT A hologram is a three-dimensional photographic image created by laser beams.
hols /hɒ lz/ N‑PLURAL Some people refer to their holidays as their hols . [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ Where did you go for your hols?
hol|ster /hoʊ lstə r / (holsters ) N‑COUNT A holster is a holder for a small gun, which is worn on a belt around someone's waist or on a strap around their shoulder.
holy ◆◇◇ /hoʊ li/ (holier , holiest )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe something as holy , you mean that it is considered to be special because it is connected with God or a particular religion. □ To them, as to all Christians, this is a holy place.
2 ADJ A holy person is a religious leader or someone who leads a religious life.
3 → see also holier-than-thou
Ho ly Com|mu n|ion N‑UNCOUNT Holy Communion is the most important religious service in the Christian church, in which people share bread and wine as a symbol of the Last Supper and the death of Christ.
Ho ly Fa ther N‑PROPER In the Catholic Church, the Holy Father is the Pope.
Ho ly Gho st N‑PROPER The Holy Ghost is the same as the Holy Spirit .
holy of holies /hoʊ li əv hoʊ liz/ N‑SING A holy of holies is a place that is so sacred that only particular people are allowed to enter; often used in informal English to refer humorously to a place where only a few special people can go. □ …the holy of holies in the Temple. □ …the Aldeburgh Festival, the holy of holies in the contemporary British music scene.
ho ly o r|ders also Holy Orders N‑PLURAL Someone who is in holy orders is a member of the Christian clergy. □ He took holy orders in 1935.
Ho ly Spi r|it N‑PROPER In the Christian religion, the Holy Spirit is one of the three aspects of God, together with God the Father and God the Son.
Ho ly Week N‑UNCOUNT In the Christian religion, Holy Week is the week before Easter, when Christians remember the events leading up to the death of Christ.
hom|age /hɒ m I dʒ/ N‑UNCOUNT Homage is respect shown towards someone or something you admire, or to a person in authority. □ [+ to ] Palace has released two marvellous films that pay homage to our literary heritage.
home
➊ NOUN, ADJECTIVE, AND ADVERB USES
➋ PHRASAL VERB USES
➊ home ◆◆◆ /hoʊ m/ (homes )
1 N‑COUNT [oft poss N , oft at N ] Someone's home is the house or flat where they live. □ Last night they stayed at home and watched TV. □ …his home in Hampstead. □ …the allocation of land for new homes.
2 N‑UNCOUNT You can use home to refer in a general way to the house, town, or country where someone lives now or where they were born, often to emphasize that they feel they belong in that place. □ She gives frequent performances of her work, both at home and abroad. □ His father worked away from home for much of Jim's first five years. □ [+ to ] Warwick is home to some 550 international students.
3 ADV [ADV after v, be ADV ] Home means to or at the place where you live. □ Hannah wasn't feeling too well and she wanted to go home. □ Hi, Mom, I'm home!
4 ADJ [ADJ n] Home means made or done in the place where you live. □ …cheap but healthy home cooking. □ …internet home shopping and grocery delivery.
5 ADJ [ADJ n] Home means relating to your own country as opposed to foreign countries. □ Europe's software companies still have a growing home market.
6 N‑COUNT A home is a large house or institution where a number of people live and are looked after, instead of living in their own houses or flats. They usually live there because they are too old or ill to look after themselves or for their families to care for them. □ …an old people's home.
7 N‑COUNT You can refer to a family unit as a home . □ She had, at any rate, provided a peaceful and loving home for Harriet.
8 N‑SING If you refer to the home of something, you mean the place where it began or where it is most typically found. □ [+ of ] This south-west region of France is the home of claret.