manhole

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English

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A manhole cover in Twickenham, Greater London

Etymology

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man +‎ hole

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /mænhəʊl/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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manhole (plural manholes)

  1. A hole in the ground used to access the sewers or other underground vaults and installations.
    • 1936, Robert Frost, “The Vindictives”, in A Further Range:
      The king had scarce ceased to writhe,
      When hate gave a terrible laugh,
      Like a manhole opened to Hell.
  2. A hole providing access to the inside of a boiler, tank etc.
  3. (informal) A man's anus, in a sexual context.

Usage notes

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  • In contexts such as government documents where anything that might be perceived as sexist is avoided, this has mostly been replaced by maintenance hole

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Anagrams

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