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
Hezbollah shares its chronic corruption and misrule with the other militias turned parties that have hollowed out the postwar Lebanese state.
—
Youmna Melhem Chamieh, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
But perhaps more importantly, the state had been hollowed out by years of US sanctions, endemic regime corruption and economic collapse.
—The Week Uk, theweek, 22 Dec. 2024
Demographic sorting has hollowed out many states, leaving a few coastal states with increasing populations but this has not gone so far—yet—to assure that there are 38 'red' states that might favor a Musk amendment.
—Gord Magill, Newsweek, 21 Dec. 2024
Louisa, like so many other places in the region, has been hollowed out by opioids.
—Longreads, 18 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hollow out 
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Youmna Melhem Chamieh, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
But perhaps more importantly, the state had been hollowed out by years of US sanctions, endemic regime corruption and economic collapse.
—The Week Uk, theweek, 22 Dec. 2024
Demographic sorting has hollowed out many states, leaving a few coastal states with increasing populations but this has not gone so far—yet—to assure that there are 38 'red' states that might favor a Musk amendment.
—Gord Magill, Newsweek, 21 Dec. 2024
Louisa, like so many other places in the region, has been hollowed out by opioids.
—Longreads, 18 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hollow out
Dictionary Entries Near hollow out
Cite this Entry
“Hollow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hollow%20out. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
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