Meanings
comparative holier · superlative holiest
- Having, or being full of, holes.
Fred loved holey Dutch cheese.
1 more example
Steven also acknowledged that his presentation of self—wild locs, nerd glasses, and holey hipster jeans for our first interview—encourages whites to speak to him.
2014, Zandria F. Robinson, chapter 3, in This Ain't Chicago: Race, Class, and Regional Identity in the Post-Soul South, University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 111
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishholy
- Englishholey
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”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian дупчест
- дупчест (dupčest)containing holes
Czech děravý
- děravýcontaining holes
Esperanto trua
- truacontaining holes
French troué
- trouécontaining holes
German löchrig
- löchrigcontaining holes
Māori pihangarua, puhangarua
- pihangaruacontaining holes
- puhangaruacontaining holes
- watawatacontaining holes
Polish dziurawy
- dziurawycontaining holes
Russian дыря́вый
- дыря́вый (dyrjávyj)containing holes
Spanish ojoso
- ojosocontaining holes
Ukrainian дірявий, діряве
- дірявий (dirjavyj)containing holes
- діряве (dirjave)containing holes
- дірява (dirjava)containing holes
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with holey
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
holey. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holey
“holey.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holey. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “holey,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holey.
Source: holey on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.