"rabbit hole" meaning in English

See rabbit hole in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: rabbit holes [plural]
Etymology: rabbit + hole. Extended senses reference Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where Alice travels down a rabbit hole into a bizarre world. Etymology templates: {{com|en|rabbit|hole}} rabbit + hole Head templates: {{en-noun}} rabbit hole (plural rabbit holes)
  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see rabbit, hole. The entrance to a rabbit warren or burrow; the whole warren or burrow. Synonyms: rabbit-hole, rabbithole Related terms: wormhole Translations ((entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow): kaninhul [neuter] (Danish), konijnenhol [neuter] (Dutch), kaninkolo (Finnish), terrier (de lapin) [masculine] (French), Kaninchenloch [neuter] (German), Kaninchenhöhle [feminine] (German), Kaninchenbau [masculine] (German), κουνελότρυπα (kounelótrypa) [feminine] (Greek), nyúlüreg (Hungarian), nyúlodú (Hungarian), nyúl ürege/odúja/odva/vacka (Hungarian), kanínuhola [feminine] (Icelandic), poll coinicéir [masculine] (Irish), súil choinicéir [feminine] (Irish), rapach [feminine] (Irish), poll coinín [masculine] (Irish), madriguera [feminine] (Spanish), kaninhål [neuter] (Swedish), kaninhåla [common-gender] (Swedish), kaningryt [neuter] (Swedish), kroligahog (Volapük)
    Sense id: en-rabbit_hole-en-noun-Rv3bdjod Disambiguation of '(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow': 87 1 4 4 4
  2. (usually with article) A bizarre world, where everyday rules do not apply. Tags: usually Translations (bizarre world): Trip [masculine] (German), Wunderland [neuter] (German), Nonsenswelt [feminine] (German)
    Sense id: en-rabbit_hole-en-noun-IC51QBeL Disambiguation of 'bizarre world': 0 82 18 0 0
  3. (usually with article) A way into such a world. Tags: usually Categories (topical): Lewis Carroll Synonyms: looking-glass
    Sense id: en-rabbit_hole-en-noun-z-h0M8-O Disambiguation of Lewis Carroll: 13 4 61 6 17
  4. (by extension) A time-consuming tangent or detour, often one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself. Tags: broadly Synonyms: wild-goose chase Translations (time-consuming tangent or detour): méandre [masculine] (French), dédale [masculine] (French), écheveau [masculine] (French), Abschweifung [feminine] (German), Abstecher [colloquial, masculine] (German), Nebengleis (english: fig.) [neuter] (German), zeitaufwendiges Unterfangen [neuter] (German), bonyodalom (Hungarian), rejtelmek (Hungarian), szövevény (Hungarian), útvesztő (Hungarian), (detour) kitérő (Hungarian), kacskaringó (Hungarian), mellékvágány (Hungarian), vargabetű (Hungarian), jardín [masculine] (Spanish), madriguera de conejo [feminine] (Spanish), tidsdödare [common-gender] (Swedish), utsvävning [common-gender] (Swedish), distraktion [common-gender] (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-rabbit_hole-en-noun-c2W-Gp3G Disambiguation of 'time-consuming tangent or detour': 4 2 3 87 3
  5. (gaming) The initial clue that leads to an alternate reality game. Categories (topical): Gaming Synonyms: trailhead
    Sense id: en-rabbit_hole-en-noun-Qtr4H-Zb Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Hungarian translations, Terms with Icelandic translations, Terms with Irish translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Volapük translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 7 8 7 7 71 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 6 6 5 5 78 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 18 5 7 8 62 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 6 5 5 4 80 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 6 7 12 5 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 7 12 9 10 62 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 8 10 18 8 56 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 7 10 7 9 67 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 8 12 8 9 64 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 8 11 11 12 58 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 8 9 21 10 51 Disambiguation of Terms with Icelandic translations: 8 10 18 8 56 Disambiguation of Terms with Irish translations: 8 10 18 8 56 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 6 9 7 7 72 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 7 10 18 7 57 Disambiguation of Terms with Volapük translations: 6 11 7 7 69 Topics: games, gaming

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "rabbit",
        "3": "hole"
      },
      "expansion": "rabbit + hole",
      "name": "com"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "rabbit + hole. Extended senses reference Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where Alice travels down a rabbit hole into a bizarre world.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "rabbit holes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "rabbit hole (plural rabbit holes)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1866, Lewis Carroll, chapter 1, in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:",
          "text": "The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 83:",
          "text": "As the limber gunners went to the rear, his horse trod in a rabbit-hole and came down, throwing him into a depression of the ground.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1953 June, B. D. J. Walsh, “Branch Lines to Thetford”, in Railway Magazine, page 378:",
          "text": "There are two platforms (that on the down side is a island) but they are weed-grown, with many rabbit-holes, and there is no cover of any kind.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see rabbit, hole. The entrance to a rabbit warren or burrow; the whole warren or burrow."
      ],
      "id": "en-rabbit_hole-en-noun-Rv3bdjod",
      "links": [
        [
          "rabbit",
          "rabbit#English"
        ],
        [
          "hole",
          "hole#English"
        ],
        [
          "entrance",
          "entrance"
        ],
        [
          "rabbit warren",
          "rabbit warren"
        ],
        [
          "burrow",
          "burrow"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0 0 0 0",
          "word": "wormhole"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0 0 0 0",
          "word": "rabbit-hole"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0 0 0 0",
          "word": "rabbithole"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "kaninhul"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "konijnenhol"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "word": "kaninkolo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "terrier (de lapin)"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Kaninchenloch"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Kaninchenhöhle"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Kaninchenbau"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "kounelótrypa",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "κουνελότρυπα"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "word": "nyúlüreg"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "word": "nyúlodú"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "word": "nyúl ürege/odúja/odva/vacka"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "kanínuhola"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "poll coinicéir"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "súil choinicéir"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "rapach"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "poll coinín"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "madriguera"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "kaninhål"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "kaninhåla"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "kaningryt"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 1 4 4 4",
          "code": "vo",
          "lang": "Volapük",
          "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
          "word": "kroligahog"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A bizarre world, where everyday rules do not apply."
      ],
      "id": "en-rabbit_hole-en-noun-IC51QBeL",
      "links": [
        [
          "bizarre",
          "bizarre"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(usually with article) A bizarre world, where everyday rules do not apply."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "with article"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "usually"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 82 18 0 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "bizarre world",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Trip"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 82 18 0 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "bizarre world",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Wunderland"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 82 18 0 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "bizarre world",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Nonsenswelt"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "13 4 61 6 17",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Lewis Carroll",
          "orig": "en:Lewis Carroll",
          "parents": [
            "Authors",
            "British fiction",
            "Fantasy",
            "Individuals",
            "Literature",
            "People",
            "Fiction",
            "Speculative fiction",
            "Culture",
            "Entertainment",
            "Writing",
            "Human",
            "Artistic works",
            "Genres",
            "Society",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Language",
            "All topics",
            "Art",
            "Communication",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "These mushrooms will take you down the rabbit hole, man.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999, The Wachowskis, 0:29:05 from the start, in The Matrix, spoken by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne):",
          "text": "You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Linda Hoy, The Effect, John Hunt Publishing, →ISBN, page vii:",
          "text": "Tumbling down the rabbit hole, she encountered a whole new level of existence where the laws of physics were turned upside down, shaken inside out and taken to the cleaners.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A way into such a world."
      ],
      "id": "en-rabbit_hole-en-noun-z-h0M8-O",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(usually with article) A way into such a world."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "with article"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "looking-glass"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "usually"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Near-synonym: rabbit trail (regiolectic)"
        },
        {
          "text": "I'm also a fan of a really obscure book series, but that's a rabbit hole that we won't get into.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "While writing my paper, my research went down several rabbit holes that were only marginally related and wasted a lot of my time.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017, Judith Aston, Sandra Gaudenzi, Mandy Rose, I-Docs: The Evolving Practices of Interactive Documentary, →ISBN:",
          "text": "My point is not to go down the rabbit hole of deconstructing the term documentary, […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018, GAPS Stories, Chelsea Green Publishing, →ISBN:",
          "text": "I felt pretty strongly that non-food supplements would be a complicated, expensive rabbit hole that rarely cure children fully of anxiety / autism / etc. (especially in the absence of enough nourishing food).",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A time-consuming tangent or detour, often one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself."
      ],
      "id": "en-rabbit_hole-en-noun-c2W-Gp3G",
      "links": [
        [
          "time-consuming",
          "time-consuming"
        ],
        [
          "tangent",
          "tangent"
        ],
        [
          "detour",
          "detour"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) A time-consuming tangent or detour, often one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "wild-goose chase"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "méandre"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "dédale"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "écheveau"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Abschweifung"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "colloquial",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Abstecher"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "de",
          "english": "fig.",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Nebengleis"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "zeitaufwendiges Unterfangen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "word": "bonyodalom"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "word": "rejtelmek"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "word": "szövevény"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "word": "útvesztő"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "word": "(detour) kitérő"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "word": "kacskaringó"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "word": "mellékvágány"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "word": "vargabetű"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "jardín"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "madriguera de conejo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "tidsdödare"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "utsvävning"
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        {
          "_dis1": "4 2 3 87 3",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "distraktion"
        }
      ]
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          "orig": "en:Gaming",
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            "Human",
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            "Fundamental"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 10 18 8 56",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Icelandic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 10 18 8 56",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Irish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 9 7 7 72",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "7 10 18 7 57",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 11 7 7 69",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Volapük translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The initial clue that leads to an alternate reality game."
      ],
      "id": "en-rabbit_hole-en-noun-Qtr4H-Zb",
      "links": [
        [
          "gaming",
          "gaming#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "clue",
          "clue"
        ],
        [
          "alternate reality game",
          "alternate reality game"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(gaming) The initial clue that leads to an alternate reality game."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "trailhead"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        "games",
        "gaming"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
  ],
  "word": "rabbit hole"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Hungarian translations",
    "Terms with Icelandic translations",
    "Terms with Irish translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Volapük translations",
    "en:Lewis Carroll"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "rabbit",
        "3": "hole"
      },
      "expansion": "rabbit + hole",
      "name": "com"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "rabbit + hole. Extended senses reference Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where Alice travels down a rabbit hole into a bizarre world.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "rabbit holes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "rabbit hole (plural rabbit holes)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "wormhole"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1866, Lewis Carroll, chapter 1, in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:",
          "text": "The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 83:",
          "text": "As the limber gunners went to the rear, his horse trod in a rabbit-hole and came down, throwing him into a depression of the ground.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1953 June, B. D. J. Walsh, “Branch Lines to Thetford”, in Railway Magazine, page 378:",
          "text": "There are two platforms (that on the down side is a island) but they are weed-grown, with many rabbit-holes, and there is no cover of any kind.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see rabbit, hole. The entrance to a rabbit warren or burrow; the whole warren or burrow."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "rabbit",
          "rabbit#English"
        ],
        [
          "hole",
          "hole#English"
        ],
        [
          "entrance",
          "entrance"
        ],
        [
          "rabbit warren",
          "rabbit warren"
        ],
        [
          "burrow",
          "burrow"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A bizarre world, where everyday rules do not apply."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "bizarre",
          "bizarre"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(usually with article) A bizarre world, where everyday rules do not apply."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "with article"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "usually"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "These mushrooms will take you down the rabbit hole, man.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999, The Wachowskis, 0:29:05 from the start, in The Matrix, spoken by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne):",
          "text": "You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Linda Hoy, The Effect, John Hunt Publishing, →ISBN, page vii:",
          "text": "Tumbling down the rabbit hole, she encountered a whole new level of existence where the laws of physics were turned upside down, shaken inside out and taken to the cleaners.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A way into such a world."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(usually with article) A way into such a world."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "with article"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "looking-glass"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "usually"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Near-synonym: rabbit trail (regiolectic)"
        },
        {
          "text": "I'm also a fan of a really obscure book series, but that's a rabbit hole that we won't get into.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "While writing my paper, my research went down several rabbit holes that were only marginally related and wasted a lot of my time.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017, Judith Aston, Sandra Gaudenzi, Mandy Rose, I-Docs: The Evolving Practices of Interactive Documentary, →ISBN:",
          "text": "My point is not to go down the rabbit hole of deconstructing the term documentary, […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018, GAPS Stories, Chelsea Green Publishing, →ISBN:",
          "text": "I felt pretty strongly that non-food supplements would be a complicated, expensive rabbit hole that rarely cure children fully of anxiety / autism / etc. (especially in the absence of enough nourishing food).",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A time-consuming tangent or detour, often one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "time-consuming",
          "time-consuming"
        ],
        [
          "tangent",
          "tangent"
        ],
        [
          "detour",
          "detour"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) A time-consuming tangent or detour, often one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "wild-goose chase"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Gaming"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The initial clue that leads to an alternate reality game."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "gaming",
          "gaming#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "clue",
          "clue"
        ],
        [
          "alternate reality game",
          "alternate reality game"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(gaming) The initial clue that leads to an alternate reality game."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "trailhead"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        "games",
        "gaming"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "rabbit-hole"
    },
    {
      "word": "rabbithole"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "kaninhul"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "konijnenhol"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "word": "kaninkolo"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "terrier (de lapin)"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Kaninchenloch"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Kaninchenhöhle"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Kaninchenbau"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "kounelótrypa",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "κουνελότρυπα"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "word": "nyúlüreg"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "word": "nyúlodú"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "word": "nyúl ürege/odúja/odva/vacka"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "kanínuhola"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "poll coinicéir"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "súil choinicéir"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "rapach"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "poll coinín"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "madriguera"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "kaninhål"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "kaninhåla"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "kaningryt"
    },
    {
      "code": "vo",
      "lang": "Volapük",
      "sense": "(entrance to) a rabbit warren or burrow",
      "word": "kroligahog"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "bizarre world",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Trip"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "bizarre world",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Wunderland"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "bizarre world",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Nonsenswelt"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "méandre"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "dédale"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "écheveau"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Abschweifung"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Abstecher"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "english": "fig.",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Nebengleis"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "zeitaufwendiges Unterfangen"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "word": "bonyodalom"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "word": "rejtelmek"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "word": "szövevény"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "word": "útvesztő"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "word": "(detour) kitérő"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "word": "kacskaringó"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "word": "mellékvágány"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "word": "vargabetű"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "jardín"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "madriguera de conejo"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "tidsdödare"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "utsvävning"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "time-consuming tangent or detour",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "distraktion"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
  ],
  "word": "rabbit hole"
}

Download raw JSONL data for rabbit hole meaning in English (10.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.