black hole

black hole
black hole lack" hole` A dungeon or dark cell in a prison; a military lock-up or guardroom; -- now commonly with allusion to the cell (the Black Hole) in a fort at Calcutta (called the {Black Hole of Calcutta}), into which 146 English prisoners were thrust by the nabob Suraja Dowla on the night of June 20, 1765, and in which 123 of the prisoners died before morning from lack of air. [1913 Webster]

A discipline of unlimited autocracy, upheld by rods, and ferules, and the black hole. --H. Spencer. [1913 Webster]

2. (Physics, Astron.) An astronomical object whose mass is so condensed that the gravitational force does not allow anything, even light, to escape from its outer limit (the {event horizon}). The existence of such objects was first proposed from theoretical considerations. Because light cannot escape from such objects, they have not yet been detected with certainty (1998), but several "candidates" have been observed whose properties strongly suggest that they are black holes. Some theorists suggest that the centers of many galaxies may have large black holes at their cores. See also {escape velocity}. [PJC]

3. [from the astronomical black hole.] a place into which things may enter, but can never emerge. [Fig., Jocose] "He was so disorganized his office was a black hole." [PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Black Hole — est une bande dessinée en noir et blanc de Charles Burns. Elle a été publiée aux États Unis en 12 volumes, de 1995 à 2005 par Kitchen Sink Press et Fantagraphics. Une édition intégrale a été réalisée par Pantheon Books en 2005. En France,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • black hole — ˌblack ˈhole noun [countable] COMMERCE a business activity or product on which large amounts of money are spent, but that does not produce any income or other useful result: • Anyone who launches a bid for the company will want to be sure there… …   Financial and business terms

  • Black Hole — steht für: ein astronomisches Objekt, siehe Schwarzes Loch Black Hole (Alton Towers), Achterbahn in Alton Towers, England Black Hole (Fahrgeschäft), mobile Indoorachterbahn Black Hole Entertainment, ungarisches Softwareunternehmen Black Hole… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • black hole — noun count 1. ) SCIENCE an area in outer space where the force of GRAVITY is so strong that light and everything else around it is pulled into it 2. ) INFORMAL a situation in which large amounts of money are spent without bringing any benefits:… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • black hole — n 1.) an area in outer space into which everything near it, including light, is pulled 2.) informal something that uses up a lot of money ▪ I m worried that the project could become a financial black hole …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Black Hole — [ blæk houl] das; , s <aus gleichbed. engl. black hole> Schwarzes Loch (Astrophys.) …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • black hole — in astrophysics, 1968, probably with awareness of Black Hole of Calcutta, incident of June 19, 1756, in which 146 British POWs taken by the Nawab of Bengal after the capture of Ft. William, Calcutta, were held overnight in punishment cell of the… …   Etymology dictionary

  • black hole — If there is a black hole in financial accounts, money has disappeared …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • black hole — black holes 1) N COUNT Black holes are areas in space, where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from them. Black holes are thought to be formed by collapsed stars. 2) N COUNT: usu sing If you say that something,… …   English dictionary

  • Black Hole —   [ blæk həʊl] das, / s, Astrophysik: englische Bezeichnung für Schwarzes Loch …   Universal-Lexikon

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