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borehole

borehole

4 6.8
A narrow hole drilled into the ground to find water or minerals
  • noun
  • /ˈbɔrˌhoʊl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sonda
  • Engineers drilled a new borehole to test the soil for environmental contamination.
  • drill a borehole
  • borehole imaging
  • borehole wall

Frack up the borehole flows the gas.

Examples

  • The air quality readings from the borehole indicated high levels of pollution underground.

  • The depth of boreholes in the study area is between 150 m and 200 m.

    Academic text (2010)
  • And with the construction of this borehole, clean water, for each and every home.

  • The borehole has provided itself with a very solid cap, like concrete.

  • You're getting a picture of what the core left behind, the open borehole and the rock formation.

  • Whatever the cause of the contamination was, the change from borehole to public supply seems to have resolved the problem.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Each year, the permafrost temperature at this borehole gets measured.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Fast fluid samplers wait to be lowered into a borehole shortly after assembly in the Core Lab.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The Germans even drilled boreholes for the Steinkopf community to secure water supplies for the wagon trains.

    Academic text (2006)
  • The acoustic televiewer creates an image of the topography or roughness of the borehole wall using reflected acoustic waves.

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

hole
vsborehole
1.0

An opening in something, often made by people or nature

is a narrow drilled opening in the ground used for investigation
well
vsborehole
118 2.0

A deep hole or space that holds water

is a deep access or storage shaft, not mainly for exploratory investigation
bore
vsborehole
  • Specialized
21 6.0

A hole made by drilling, often the inside of a pipe or tube

refers specifically to a narrow drilled ground opening for geological investigation
wellbore
vsborehole
  • Specialized
4 7.4

A deep hole drilled in the ground to get oil, gas, or water

is for exploratory geological or environmental study rather than for extracting resources
drill hole
vsborehole
  • Specialized
3 4.4

A hole made with a drill to take samples or put instruments into rock

is narrower and mainly used for geological or environmental investigation
sond
vsborehole
  • Specialized
9.9

A small hole made in the ground to take samples or test soil

is used for broader ground investigations rather than only sampling tests
boring
vsborehole
  • Specialized
7.7

A hole made by drilling into rock or under the ground using a machine

is a narrow drilled opening used for ground investigation, not tunnels

How Deep

oil well
  • Specialized
19 2.8
well
118 2.0
borehole
  • Specialized
4 6.8
hole
1.0

Surface Forms

borehole singular
boreholes plural

Morphology

borehole = bore + hole (transparent) = bore + hole

The meaning is a direct, literal combination of 'bore' (a drilled hole) + 'hole', so learners can infer the sense.

Etymology

The word borehole comes from the verb bore, which means 'to make a hole', and hole, which means 'an opening'. So a borehole is simply a narrow hole drilled into the ground for water, oil, or to take samples.