pothole

pothole — noun

1. a hole left in the road when cars and weather gradually break the surface apart.

1.nounB2
Definition

a hole left in the road when cars and weather gradually break the surface apart.

Example

The bus lurched when its front wheel dropped into a pothole.

collocation: drop into / hit a pothole

City workers filled the potholes outside the school before the rainy season.

collocation: fill potholes

Common collocations
  • deep pothole
  • hidden pothole
  • hit a pothole
  • avoid a pothole
  • fill potholes
  • repair potholes
Synonyms
  • crater

    often larger and rougher, and not limited to roads

  • rut

    a long narrow track or groove rather than a round hole

  • sinkhole

    a much larger hole caused by the ground collapsing

Grammar Patterns

a pothole in the road

hit / avoid / fill a pothole

Usage Note

Most often used for damage in a road surface and commonly follows verbs such as 'hit', 'avoid', 'fill', and 'repair'. Distinguish from sense 2, which refers to a natural hole worn into rock by water.

Common Mistakes

Be careful of the pothole on the kitchen floor.
Be careful of the hole in the kitchen floor.
'pothole' is mainly used for damaged road surfaces.
Our car fell in a pothole.
Our car hit a pothole.
drivers usually say a vehicle hits or goes over a pothole.

2. a deep, usually rounded space cut into rock by moving water, often where stones

2.nounC1
Definition

a deep, usually rounded space cut into rock by moving water, often where stones slowly grind the surface away.

Example

Clear water shimmered in a round rock pothole beside the waterfall.

geology use: water in a rock pothole

The guide warned the cavers about a deep pothole in the limestone passage.

caving use: underground pothole in limestone

Common collocations
  • deep pothole
  • round pothole
  • rock pothole
  • river pothole
  • water cut a pothole
  • stream-carved pothole
Synonyms
  • rock pool

    focuses on water lying in the hole, not on how the hole was formed

  • hollow

    a broader word for any low or empty space

  • cavity

    more technical and not specifically caused by water

Grammar Patterns

a pothole in the rock

water cut / carved a pothole

Usage Note

Common in descriptions of rivers, waterfalls, limestone, and other natural rock features. Distinguish from sense 1, which is the everyday road meaning.

Common Mistakes

Rain made a pothole in the garden soil.
Rain made a hole in the garden soil.
this sense is used for water-worn holes in rock, not ordinary soft ground.
The river cut a pothole in the highway.
The river cut a hole in the highway road surface.
a road hole is usually sense 1, not this geology sense.

3. a small problem that briefly slows a plan, job, or journey without stopping it c

3.nounC1
Definition

a small problem that briefly slows a plan, job, or journey without stopping it completely.

Example

The budget meeting hit a pothole when two reports disagreed.

figurative pattern: hit a pothole

Our travel plans hit a pothole when the last train was canceled.

Common collocations
  • brief pothole
  • early pothole
  • hit a pothole
  • run into a pothole
  • get past a pothole
Synonyms
  • hiccup

    informal and often even briefer than 'pothole'

  • snag

    an unexpected small problem, often in plans or systems

  • setback

    usually more serious and longer-lasting

Grammar Patterns

hit a pothole

run into a pothole

get past a pothole

Usage Note

Usually refers to a temporary setback rather than a serious failure, and often appears with motion verbs such as 'hit', 'run into', or 'get past'.

Common Mistakes

Losing our main client was just a pothole.
Losing our main client was a major setback.
'pothole' suggests a fairly small, temporary problem.
The company entered a pothole and closed forever.
The company hit a pothole but stayed open.
this figurative sense does not usually imply complete collapse.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These words can all describe damage in the ground, but they point to different shapes and causes. A 'pothole' is the usual word for a rounded hole in a road that cars may hit. A 'rut' is long and narrow, usually made by wheels passing over soft ground again and again. A 'crack' is a split line in the surface and may be shallow, so it is earlier damage than a pothole. A 'sinkhole' is much larger and happens when the ground below collapses. In everyday driving English, you avoid or repair potholes, get stuck in ruts, notice cracks, and call emergency services if a sinkhole opens.

pothole ↗rut ↗crack ↗sinkhole

Etymology

English

The word joins 'pot' and 'hole'. It was first used for rounded holes worn into rock by moving water, probably because their bowl-like shape looked like a pot. English later extended the word to similar holes in road surfaces, and then to small setbacks in a plan or process.