hollow out
phrasal verb
hollowed out; hollowing out; hollows out
1
: to remove the inside of (something) : to make an empty space in (something)
The kids were hollowing out pumpkins.
a hollowed-out log
2
: to form (something) by digging or cutting the inside of something
Workers hollowed out a tunnel through the mountain.
Examples of hollow out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For example, for years, the budgets of local pet shelters have been hollowed out by large, national animal organizations that enjoy nearly universal name recognition and extensive marketing budgets.
—
Edwin Sayres, Hartford Courant, 19 Mar. 2025
At current levels, oil prices risk hollowing out that progress.
—Mark Le Dain, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
More than 30 percent of the biomass in such savannas gets consumed by termites hollowing out trunks from within, according to research by Zanne, a co-author of an article on deadwood and the carbon cycle in the 2024 Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.
—Katarina Zimmer, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
But the campaign to downsize government, which has been led by Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, has also hollowed out agencies and programs devoted to protecting plant and animal health.
—Emily Anthes, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hollow out
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Edwin Sayres, Hartford Courant, 19 Mar. 2025
At current levels, oil prices risk hollowing out that progress.
—Mark Le Dain, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
More than 30 percent of the biomass in such savannas gets consumed by termites hollowing out trunks from within, according to research by Zanne, a co-author of an article on deadwood and the carbon cycle in the 2024 Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.
—Katarina Zimmer, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
But the campaign to downsize government, which has been led by Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, has also hollowed out agencies and programs devoted to protecting plant and animal health.
—Emily Anthes, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hollow out
Cite this Entry
“Hollow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hollow%20out. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.
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