Dictionary

coal hole en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈkəʊlhəʊl/ (UK)

Etymology

From coal + hole.

Meanings

1. A cellar or other compartment for storing coal.
   • [T]he back door opened on to a paved yard, with a coal-hole beside the back gate that my grandmother topped up with a bit of judicious thieving for, unlike the other coal-holes along the terrace, ours was not entitled to the free hand-outs from the pits for miners' families. 1976, Angela Carter, “The Mother Lode”, in Shaking a Leg, Vintage, published 2013, page 3:
2. A hole in the pavement with a removable hatch, leading to an underground coal bunker.

Forms