as in lurking
to remain out of sight
we'll hole up in the cellar and wait out the hurricane
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Recent Examples of holing up
But after holing up Sunday in his apartment 90 steps from the beach in the historic Zona Romantica, Eure was ready to venture outside.
—
Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Amir and Miri share their memories of holing up in a lightless, airless concrete room with two children under the age of 5, trying desperately to remain quiet.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2025
Now teens were holing up in garages across America in an attempt to create their own versions of the Fab Four.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
And at the very least, Damour said, kids won’t get a chance to develop the habit of holing up in their bedroom with their phone and never coming out.
—Rheana Murray, The Atlantic, 11 Aug. 2025
Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Amir and Miri share their memories of holing up in a lightless, airless concrete room with two children under the age of 5, trying desperately to remain quiet.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2025
Now teens were holing up in garages across America in an attempt to create their own versions of the Fab Four.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
And at the very least, Damour said, kids won’t get a chance to develop the habit of holing up in their bedroom with their phone and never coming out.
—Rheana Murray, The Atlantic, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holing up
Verb
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The Audacity creator Jonathan Glatzer and star Billy Magnussen, who plays wealthy tech CEO Duncan Park, took the stage at Deadline Contenders TV to talk about taking the tech monster lurking in the shadows and those responsible for its existence, and turning it into a comedy.—
Amanda Champagne-Meadows,
Deadline,
26 Apr. 2026
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With savings up to 86 percent on complete sets and lots of cooling options for warm nights, there are some major bedding deals lurking on the site.—
Tanya Sharma,
PEOPLE,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Hospital surveillance footage captured Talley pointing the gun at the room where the technician was hiding, Pekara said, before starting to make his way out of the building.—
Caroline Kubzansky,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
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After a search of the area, police located both suspects, who police said are teenagers, hiding nearby and took both into custody.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The outlets reported, citing police, that the son discovered his mother lying face down in a pool of blood from stab wounds and his father dead in another room.—
Luke Chinman,
PEOPLE,
30 Apr. 2026
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Locally heavy rain will quickly reduce visibility and result in ponding of water on roadways, standing water in low lying areas, and minor flooding of creeks, streams, and areas of poor drainage.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Holing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holing%20up. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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