hollow out

verb

"hollow-out" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hollow out” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make something hollow.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hollow-out · hollow out · English

hollow out · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for hollow out
PropertyValue
Headwordhollow out
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hollow out” in English

hollow outranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hollow out is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for hollow out in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is hollow out, spelled H-O-L-L-O-W- -O-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make something hollow.
  2. 2
    To become hollow.
  3. 3
    To reduce the power or influence of something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how hollow out appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. After we have crossed the Glenderamackin stream, which drains the northern slopes of Saddleback, and the latter has united with the St. John's Beck to form the Greta, however, we see ahead the miniature canyon the Greta has hollowed out for itself, and into the depth of which the train now descends.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hollow out"?
"hollow out" is spelled H-O-L-L-O-W- -O-U-T.
What does "hollow out" mean?
As a verb, "hollow out" means: To make something hollow.
What language does "hollow out" come from?
"hollow out" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list