hidey-hole

noun

hid·​ey-hole ˈhī-dē-ˌhōl How to pronounce hidey-hole (audio)
variants or less commonly hidy-hole
Synonyms of hidey-holenext
informal
: an area or space used as a hiding place
A lot of sport fish will, when hooked, make a run for some hidey-hole …—Discover Alaska
Payday in Iraq means taking home a wodge of notes from your boss and shoving it under your bed or into some hidey-hole before finding time to visit your local bank to make a deposit.—The Economist

Synonyms of hidey-hole

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of hidey-hole in a Sentence

commandos captured the deposed dictator in a carefully camouflaged cellar that he had been using as a hidey-hole
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Whereas wood and plastic boards are full of hidey-holes for nasties, titanium cutting boards leave no place for germs and odors to hide. — Walden Green, Pitchfork, 29 Oct. 2024 Whereas wood and plastic boards are full of hidey-holes for nasties, titanium cutting boards leave no place for germs and odors to hide. — Miles Walls, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Sep. 2024 In the grounds, cycling and walking trails, as well as a wooden treehouse with swings and hidey-holes, will keep the older ones entertained in fair weather. — Sarah Leigh Bannerman, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Feb. 2026 But no sooner had còsagach caught on than Gaelic speakers rose up in protest, saying the word didn’t evoke coziness so much as a damp hidey-hole, the kind of mossy burrow that a small creature might live in. — Leslie Jamison, Travel + Leisure, 23 Jan. 2025 On Praslin island arrived the exclusive-use La Cigale Estate, a nine-bedroom, $10,000-a-night hidey-hole along Côte d’Or beach. — Chris Schalkx, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier hiding-hole

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hidey-hole was in 1817

Rhymes for hidey-hole

See All Rhymes for hidey-hole

Browse Nearby Words

hide spreader
hidey-hole
hiding place
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hidey-hole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hidey-hole. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All