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

rabbit hole

1 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
25 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
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
716 1.0
den
4 1.0
rabbit hole
1 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'.