pothole
noun
Forms potholes
- noun A shallow pit or other edged depression in a road's surface, especially when caused by erosion, weather or traffic.
- noun A pit formed in the bed of a turbulent stream.
- noun (geology) A vertical cave system, often found in limestone.
- noun (archaeology) A pit resulting from unauthorized excavation by treasure-hunters or vandals.
- noun (Australia, mining) A shallow hole dug for the purpose of prospecting for opal or gold.
- noun (fandom slang, TV Tropes) A hyperlink with text displayed on a page that is different from the title of the page to which the text links; a piped link.
- noun A hole or recess on the top of a stove into which a pot may be placed.
Synonyms
Etymology
From dialectal pot (“pit, hollow, cavity”) + hole. The "cave" senses, attested since at least 1809 (as pot-hole), may be from Middle English pot, potte (“a deep hole for a mine, or from peat-digging”), of uncertain origin; perhaps related to English pit, pote, or pot. Compare Scots pott, patt (“a pit dug in the ground; coalpit”).
From pot + hole. Attested since at least 1811 (also as pot-hole), possibly continuing Middle English *pothol (attested in the plural, potholys).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pothole”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details