Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🌀 A deep distraction 🕳️ A burrow
rabbit hole

rabbit hole

9 3.4
A hole in the ground where wild rabbits live and hide
  • noun
  • /ˈræbɪt hoʊl/
: madriguera
  • Kiko stuck his furry brown head out of his rabbit hole and looked at the world.

When Alice goes down the rabbit hole, that's the underworld, right?

Examples

  • His interest was finally sparked by the badger at the rabbit hole.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • "Mama, Mama!" he called, scampering back down the rabbit hole.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • He went down a rabbit hole.

    Baby's Day Out (1994)

  • The animal, runty and of no clear breed, dug at a rabbit hole.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Kiko stuck his furry brown head out of his rabbit hole and looked at the world.

  • The animal, runty and of no clear breed, dug at a rabbit hole in search of food.

  • After a long day of exploring, the rabbit returned to its rabbit hole for safety.

Synonyms

burrow
vsrabbit hole
19 2.7

A hole or tunnel dug in the ground by an animal for shelter

is restricted to the nest of one small wild mammal rather than any animal
rabbit burrow
vsrabbit hole
1 2.3

A hole or tunnel in the ground where small wild animals live

is the same animal nest but expressed as a common ground opening

How Big

cave
603 1.0
den
29 1.0
rabbit hole
9 3.4
mousehole
1 3.7

Surface Forms

rabbit hole singular
rabbit holes plural

Morphology

rabbit + hole

A B1 learner who knows 'rabbit' and 'hole' would most likely infer a literal hole associated with a rabbit and not automatically derive the figurative sense of an absorbing, time-consuming sequence. The figurative meaning is motivated by a cultural/metaphorical reference (Alice in Wonderland) and the idea of 'falling into' a deep hole, so the connection is partially inferable but requires prior exposure to the metaphorical usage.

Etymology

Rabbit hole is a real hole in the ground that wild rabbits use as a home or burrow, so it means 'a hole where rabbits live or hide'.