water hole
9
2.4
- noun
- /ˈwɔːtər hoʊl/
:
charca
- Depleted, Alain trudges toward the water hole with Guido across his shoulders.
Examples
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Once the bark was packed, we searched a boulder-strewn stream bed for a water hole where we might drink.
Academic text (1993) -
Then it lowered its head and moved toward the water hole.
Fiction book (1994) -
So will there be water at this water hole?
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But everybody knew about the water hole, and everybody used it.
-
What does a water hole look like?
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There are other water holes in the area.
Fiction book (1999) -
Ranchero, we'll have to find another water hole, boy.
-
Delirious from the heat and thirst, a few men dropped their kits, rushing to the water hole with their bidons in hand.
Fiction book (1998) -
Terror-stricken herds of wild animals fleeing from the blazing forests... to the open plains are dying of thirst around mud-caked water holes.
-
During the drought, the animals gathered at the water hole to drink.
Synonyms
4
1.7
A natural pool where wild animals go to drink water
How Deep
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a hollow where water collects' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'water' (liquid) with 'hole' (a hollow/opening); a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer this referent. This simple noun–noun composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern in English and other languages, so the phrase is immediately comprehensible without prior exposure.
Etymology
Water hole comes from the clear image of a low place in the ground where water gathers and animals crowd around the hole to drink. That's why it means 'a natural place where water collects and animals go to drink.'