murder hole
murder hole noun: a slit or hole above the entrance to a fortification, thought to provide access for defenders to kill invaders.
Noun (1)
murder hole (plural murder holes)
- A slit or hole above the entrance to a fortification, thought to provide access for defenders to kill invaders.
- The ground floor entrance, a gothic doorway, is in the east wall and gives access to a small vestibule with a murder hole. The stairs on the left leads up to a short landing, over which is a second smaller murder hole.1997, John Kirwan, Kilkenny: studies in honour of Margaret M. Phelan, page 41
- While tradition and speculation has it that murder holes were commonly used to throw stones and other heavy missiles onto the heads of unsuspecting besiegers, they quite likely originated as devices that allowed defenders to quench the flames of an enemy's fire burning the timber defenses situated...2006, Lise Hull, Britain's Medieval Castles, →ISBN, page 58
- A chamber above the entrance to a fortification where defenders hide and shoot at invaders trapped in the entryway below.
- On the first floor, over the gate passage and tower rooms, was a massive hall, well-appointed despite its having to accommodate the inner portcullis and murder hole, the slots for which may still be seen in the floor.1992, Sian E. Rees, A Guide to Ancient and Historic Wales: Dyfed, →ISBN, page 160
- Within it a passage with what is described by Westropp as a 'murder hole' on the roof just inside the doorway. This 'murder hole' extends the width of the passage and is covered over by well fitting stone slabs.1998, The parish of Kilkeedy: a local history, →ISBN, page 75
Noun (2) capitalized: Murder Hole
Murder Hole
- A waterhole or pit in a bog where the bodies of murder victims were thrown.
- The Murder Hole is the thing for me—that tells no tales—a single scuffle—a single plunge—and the fellow is dead and buried to your hand in a moment.1989, Islay Murray Donaldson, The Life and Work of Samuel Rutherford Crockett, page 122
- The name appears to refer to, and in fact to be an alternative one for, the Murder Hole of Carrick (q.vj which lies 200 or 300 yards west of the croft biggin.1947, John Kevan McDowall, Carrick Gallovidian
Examples of murder hole in a sentence
- She said the nearest she could recall was when one of King Stephen's sentries got drunk on shipwreck brandy and fell through the murder hole, breaking his leg.2013, Michelle Cooper, A Brief History of Montmaray, →ISBN, page 23:
- The archers on the ramparts, naturally, saw them plain, as did the towermaster in the 'murder hole' above the gate.2006, Michael Flynn, Eifelheim, →ISBN, page 268:
Forms of murder hole
| plural | murder holes |
|---|---|
| alternative form | murder-hole |
Questions about murder hole
- What does murder hole mean?
- Murder hole means a slit or hole above the entrance to a fortification, thought to provide access for defenders to kill invaders.
- How do you use murder hole in a sentence?
- She said the nearest she could recall was when one of King Stephen's sentries got drunk on shipwreck brandy and fell through the murder hole, breaking his leg.
- What part of speech is murder hole?
- Murder hole is a noun.
- What is the plural of murder hole?
- The plural of murder hole is murder holes.
Words near murder hole in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: murder hole (page history and authors); Murder Hole (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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