pothole

pothole — noun

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

1.名詞B2
釋義

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

例句

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

同義詞
  • 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

文法句型

a pothole in the road

hit / avoid / fill a pothole

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

❌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.名詞C1
釋義

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

例句

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

同義詞
  • 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

文法句型

a pothole in the rock

water cut / carved a pothole

用法筆記

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

常見錯誤

❌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.名詞C1
釋義

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

例句

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.

同義詞
  • 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

文法句型

hit a pothole

run into a pothole

get past a pothole

用法筆記

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'.

常見錯誤

❌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.