foxhole

IPA/ˈfɒkshəʊl/
KK[fˈɑkshˌol]IPA/ˈfɑːkshəʊl/

foxhole — noun

  • foxholesingular
  • foxholesplural

1. a tunnel or space a fox digs into the ground or a hillside, used for sleeping, h

1.nounA2
Definition

a tunnel or space a fox digs into the ground or a hillside, used for sleeping, hiding from danger, and raising its babies

Example

Mei found a foxhole behind the stone wall at the edge of the forest.

Omar watched a vixen come out of her foxhole to look for food.

collocation: come out of a foxhole

Common collocations
  • abandoned foxhole
  • fox cubs in the foxhole
  • foxhole entrance
  • vixen and her foxhole
Synonyms
  • den

    broader term for any wild animal's shelter; can refer to a fox's home but also to bears, wolves, or other animals

  • lair

    more literary or poetic; suggests a wild animal's resting or hiding place

  • earth

    specific hunting term for a fox's underground den, used mainly by hunters

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 2 (MILITARY SHELTER): this sense refers only to the animal's den and appears in nature-related contexts, never in military descriptions.

Common Mistakes

The soldiers took cover in a foxhole full of fox cubs.
The soldiers took cover in a foxhole at the front line.
A military foxhole is not a fox's home. The two meanings share the same word but refer to completely different things.

2. a small pit dug into the earth by soldiers in a war zone, providing cover for on

2.nounB2
Definition

a small pit dug into the earth by soldiers in a war zone, providing cover for one or two people from enemy gunfire and explosions, while allowing them to shoot back from a hidden position

Example

Kim spent the night in a shallow foxhole, listening to distant explosions.

adjective before foxhole: shallow foxhole

During basic training, the recruits learned how to dig a foxhole in under thirty minutes.

collocation: dig a foxhole

Common collocations
  • dig a foxhole
  • foxhole prayer
  • foxhole buddy
  • huddle in a foxhole
  • share a foxhole
  • foxhole conversion
Synonyms
  • trench

    a much longer ditch for many soldiers, not an individual hole; soldiers stand and move along a trench

  • bunker

    a permanent fortified shelter built with concrete or sandbags, designed to survive direct hits

  • dugout

    a roofed shelter dug into a hillside or beneath a trench, providing overhead cover from artillery

Usage Note

The phrase 'dig a foxhole' is the most common verb–noun pairing for this sense. 'Foxhole prayer' refers to a desperate prayer said under fire, and 'foxhole buddy' is slang for the person who shares your foxhole in combat.

Common Mistakes

The fox hid in its foxhole during the thunderstorm.
The fox hid in its den during the thunderstorm.
Do not use the military sense of 'foxhole' for the animal. For the animal's home, use 'den' or 'fox den'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

Foxhole, trench, bunker, and dugout are all types of battlefield shelter, but they differ greatly in size and permanence. A foxhole is the smallest and most temporary — a hole dug by one or two soldiers in minutes for immediate protection from bullets. A trench is a long, narrow ditch for many troops, often with a raised step for firing. Soldiers live and move along a trench for days or weeks. A bunker is a permanent or semi-permanent structure made of concrete, steel, or thick sandbags, built to survive bombing. A dugout is a shelter carved into a hillside or the side of a trench, roofed over to offer protection from artillery shells. In short: a soldier digs a foxhole with a small shovel in a few minutes, but a bunker requires heavy materials and construction time.

foxhole ↗trench ↗bunker ↗dugout ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • foxhole entrance
  • foxhole opening
  • foxhole floor

Phrases

  • dig a foxhole
  • crawl into a foxhole
  • jump into a foxhole

Prepositions

  • in a foxhole
  • into a foxhole
  • out of a foxhole

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

The word 'foxhole' combines 'fox' (from Old English 'fox') and 'hole' (from Old English 'hol', meaning a hollowed-out place). The original sense—a fox's underground den—has been in use since at least the 1500s. The military meaning appeared during World War I (1914–1918), when soldiers compared the small pits they dug for cover to the burrows that foxes dig for shelter.