Standard Lemma guide

holey

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈhəʊl.li/ UK, wholly-holy split
  • [ˈhɒʊli] UK, wholly-holy split
  • [ˈhɒʊɫ.li] UK, wholly-holy split
  • UK: /ˈhəʊli/ without wholly-holy split
  • US: /ˈhoʊli/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -əʊli
  • homophone: wholly
  • homophone: holy (in accents without the wholly-holy split)

1

adj

Meaning 1

Having, or being full of, holes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Fred loved holey Dutch cheese.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

allowing passage in and out

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • our unfenced and largely unpoliced border inevitably has been very porous

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: porous

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English holy, holi, holly, holli (“holey, spongy, hollow”); equivalent to hole + -y. The e was inserted in Modern English to distinguish the word from holy (“hallowed, sacred”).

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bashkir: тишек (tişek) — containing holes
  • Bulgarian: дупчест (dupčest) — containing holes
  • Esperanto: trua — containing holes
  • French: troué — containing holes
  • German: löchrig — containing holes
  • Ido: truala — containing holes
  • Ingrian: uutukas — containing holes
  • Māori: pihangarua — containing holes
  • Māori: puhangarua — containing holes
  • Māori: watawata — containing holes
  • Polish: dziurawy — containing holes
  • Russian: дыря́вый (dyrjávyj) — containing holes
  • Spanish: ojoso — containing holes
  • Volapük: hogik — containing holes