Dictionary

hole up en · VERB

Etymology

From hole + up. Attested from the 19th century.

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To go into a hole, to shelter in a hole.
   • In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan bears enter winter dens in October; in the South, later; even in Florida bears “hole up” during the coldest weather. 1998, John Whitaker, William Hamilton, Mammals of the Eastern United States, page 424:
2. (intransitive) To hide.
   • The battle ended a two-day siege of an apartment block, where the suspects were holed up. 2005, BBC News, Thursday, 27 January, 2005, 18:50 GMThttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4211625.stm
   • The guerrillas holed up in a small cave.

Forms