pothole
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a hole in the surface of a road caused by bad weather or heavy traffic.
a depression or cavity in a road surface, typically resulting from the freezing and thawing of water or the mechanical wear of heavy traffic.
Simple“The car hit a deep pothole and damaged one of the front tires.”
In context“Local residents have repeatedly petitioned the council to repair the dangerous potholes that have appeared following the unusually harsh winter.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
a deep, vertical hole or cave system, usually found in limestone rock.
a deep, vertical shaft or cave system, characteristic of karst topography and often formed by the action of water on limestone.
Simple“The group of explorers prepared their ropes to descend into the limestone pothole.”
In context“The region is famous among cavers for its extensive network of potholes, some of which drop hundreds of feet into subterranean chambers.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
a smooth, round hole in the bottom of a river made by stones spinning in the water.
a circular hole formed in a rocky riverbed by the abrasive action of stones whirled around by the force of the current.
Simple“When the river level dropped, we could see deep potholes in the smooth rock.”
In context“Geologists studied the potholes in the ancient riverbed to determine the historical velocity and direction of the water flow.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
a hole dug by people looking for treasure or old objects without permission.
a pit resulting from unauthorized or amateur excavation by treasure-hunters, often damaging archaeological sites.
Simple“The archaeologist was upset to find several potholes left by looters at the site.”
In context“The integrity of the burial mound was compromised by numerous potholes dug by vandals searching for valuable artifacts.”
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).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.