Hollow vs. Solid — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on October 26, 2023
Hollow refers to an empty space inside, while solid means compact, without any space within.
Difference Between Hollow and Solid
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Hollow objects have an internal cavity or space, whereas solid objects are filled throughout.
The term 'hollow' often suggests lightness due to the absence of material inside, while 'solid' implies a sense of weight and density.
In construction, hollow materials might be used for insulation or weight reduction, while solid materials provide structural strength.
The sound produced when tapping a hollow object is usually different from that of a solid object, often echoing.
Aesthetically, hollow and solid designs can serve different purposes, with hollow structures sometimes allowing for transparency or intricate patterns.
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Comparison Chart
Internal Structure
Has an empty space inside
Compact and filled
Weight
Generally lighter
Generally heavier
Sound
Echoing sound when tapped
Solid, dull sound when tapped
Use in Construction
Used for insulation, weight reduction
Provides structural strength
Aesthetic Aspect
Can allow transparency or patterns
Usually opaque and robust
Compare with Definitions
Hollow
Empty Inside
The log was hollow.
Solid
Substantial
Their friendship was solid and unbreakable.
Hollow
Having a Space Within
The hollow wall concealed a secret passage.
Solid
Solid is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas and plasma). The molecules in a solid are closely packed together and contain the least amount of kinetic energy.
Hollow
Having a cavity, gap, or space within
A hollow wall.
Solid
Of definite shape and volume; not liquid or gaseous
It was so cold the water in the bucket became solid.
Hollow
Deeply indented or concave; sunken
"His bearded face already has a set, hollow look" (Conor Cruise O'Brien).
Solid
(Mathematics) Of or relating to three-dimensional geometric figures or bodies.
Hollow
Without substance or character
A hollow person.
Solid
Firm or compact in substance
The floor was solid and would not give way.
Hollow
Devoid of truth or validity; specious
"Theirs is at best a hollow form of flattery" (Annalyn Swan).
Solid
Not hollowed out
A solid block of wood.
Hollow
Having a reverberating, sepulchral sound
Hollow footsteps.
Solid
Being the same substance or color throughout
Solid gold.
Hollow
A cavity, gap, or space
A hollow behind a wall.
Solid
Having no gaps or breaks; continuous
A solid line of people.
Worked for a solid week.
Hollow
An indented or concave surface or area.
Solid
Acting together; unanimous
A solid voting bloc.
Hollow
A void; an emptiness
A hollow in one's life.
Solid
Written without a hyphen or space. For example, the word software is a solid compound.
Hollow
A small valley between hills or mountains.
Solid
(Printing) Having no leads between the lines.
Hollow
To make hollow
Hollow out a pumpkin.
Solid
Of good quality
Off to a solid start.
Hollow
To scoop or form by making concave
Hollow out a nest in the sand.
Solid
Substantial; hearty
A solid meal.
Hollow
To become hollow or empty.
Solid
Sound; reliable
Solid facts.
Hollow
A small valley between mountains.
He built himself a cabin in a hollow high up in the Rockies.
Solid
Financially sound
A solid business.
Hollow
A sunken area or unfilled space in something solid; a cavity, natural or artificial.
The hollow of the hand or of a tree
Solid
Upstanding or dependable
A solid citizen.
Hollow
(figuratively) A feeling of emptiness.
A hollow in the pit of one’s stomach
Solid
(Slang) Excellent; first-rate.
Hollow
(US) A sunken area.
Solid
A substance having a definite shape and volume; one that is neither liquid nor gaseous.
Hollow
(transitive) to make a hole in something; to excavate
Solid
(Mathematics) A geometric figure having three dimensions.
Hollow
To call or urge by shouting; to hollo.
Solid
Without a break or opening; completely or continuously
The theater was booked solid for a month.
Hollow
(of something solid) Having an empty space or cavity inside.
A hollow tree; a hollow sphere
Solid
As a whole; unanimously
The committee voted solid for the challenger.
Hollow
(of a sound) Distant, eerie; echoing, reverberating, as if in a hollow space; dull, muffled; often low-pitched.
He let out a hollow moan.
Solid
(of an object or substance) That can be picked up or held, having a texture, and usually firm. Unlike a liquid, gas or plasma.
Almost all metals are solid at room temperature.
Hollow
(figuratively) Without substance; having no real or significant worth; meaningless.
A hollow victory
Solid
Large in size, quantity, or value.
Hollow
(figuratively) Insincere, devoid of validity; specious.
A hollow promise
Solid
Lacking holes, hollows or admixtures of other materials.
Solid gold
Solid chocolate
Hollow
Concave; gaunt; sunken.
Solid
Strong or unyielding.
A solid foundation
Hollow
(gymnastics) Pertaining to hollow body position
Solid
(slang) Excellent, of high quality, or reliable.
That's a solid plan.
Radiohead's on tour! Have you heard their latest album yet? It's quite solid.
I don't think Dave would have done that. He's a solid dude.
Hollow
(colloquial) Completely, as part of the phrase beat hollow or beat all hollow.
Solid
Hearty; filling.
A solid meal
Hollow
Alternative form of hollo
Solid
Worthy of credit, trust, or esteem; substantial; not frivolous or fallacious.
Hollow
Having an empty space or cavity, natural or artificial, within a solid substance; not solid; excavated in the interior; as, a hollow tree; a hollow sphere.
Hollow with boards shalt thou make it.
Solid
Financially well off; wealthy.
Hollow
Depressed; concave; gaunt; sunken.
With hollow eye and wrinkled brow.
Solid
Sound; not weak.
A solid constitution of body
Hollow
Reverberated from a cavity, or resembling such a sound; deep; muffled; as, a hollow roar.
Solid
(typography) Written as one word, without spaces or hyphens.
American English writes many words as solid that British English hyphenates.
Hollow
Not sincere or faithful; false; deceitful; not sound; as, a hollow heart; a hollow friend.
Solid
Not having the lines separated by leads; not open.
Hollow
A cavity, natural or artificial; an unfilled space within anything; a hole, a cavern; an excavation; as the hollow of the hand or of a tree.
Solid
United; without division; unanimous.
The delegation is solid for a candidate.
Hollow
A low spot surrounded by elevations; a depressed part of a surface; a concavity; a channel.
Forests grewUpon the barren hollows.
I hate the dreadful hollow behind the little wood.
Solid
Of a single color throughout.
John painted the walls solid white.
He wore a solid shirt with floral pants.
Hollow
To make hollow, as by digging, cutting, or engraving; to excavate.
Solid
(of drawn lines) Continuous; unbroken; not dotted or dashed.
The solid lines show roads, and the dotted lines footpaths.
Hollow
To shout; to hollo.
Whisperings and hollowings are alike to a deaf ear.
Solid
(dated) Having all the geometrical dimensions; cubic.
A solid foot contains 1,728 solid inches.
Hollow
To urge or call by shouting.
He has hollowed the hounds.
Solid
(of volumes of materials) Measured as a single solid, as the volumes of individual pieces added together without any gaps.
Hollow
Hollo.
Solid
(chemistry) A substance in the fundamental state of matter that retains its size and shape without need of a container (as opposed to a liquid or gas).
Hollow
A cavity or space in something;
Hunger had caused the hollows in their cheeks
Solid
(geometry) A three-dimensional figure (as opposed to a surface, an area, or a curve).
Hollow
A small valley between mountains;
He built himself a cabin in a hollow high up in the Appalachians
Solid
(informal) A favor.
Please do me a solid: lend me your car for one week.
I owe him; he did me a solid last year.
Hollow
A depression hollowed out of solid matter
Solid
An article of clothing which is of a single color throughout.
I prefer solids over paisleys.
Hollow
Remove the inner part or the core of;
The mining company wants to excavate the hillsite
Solid
(in the plural) Food which is not liquid-based.
The doctor said I can't eat any solids four hours before the operation.
Hollow
Remove the interior of;
Hollow out a tree trunk
Solid
Solidly.
Hollow
Not solid; having a space or gap or cavity;
A hollow wall
A hollow tree
Hollow cheeks
His face became gaunter and more hollow with each year
Solid
Without spaces or hyphens.
Many long-established compounds are set solid.
Hollow
Deliberately deceptive;
Hollow (or false) promises
False pretenses
Solid
Having the constituent parts so compact, or so firmly adhering, as to resist the impression or penetration of other bodies; having a fixed form; hard; firm; compact; - opposed to fluid and liquid or to plastic, like clay, or to incompact, like sand.
Hollow
As if echoing in a hollow space;
The hollow sound of footsteps in the empty ballroom
Solid
Not hollow; full of matter; as, a solid globe or cone, as distinguished from a hollow one; not spongy; dense; hence, sometimes, heavy.
Hollow
Devoid of significance or point;
Empty promises
A hollow victory
Vacuous comments
Solid
Having all the geometrical dimensions; cubic; as, a solid foot contains 1,728 solid inches.
Hollow
Sounding Echoic
His footsteps sounded hollow in the abandoned hall.
Solid
Firm; compact; strong; stable; unyielding; as, a solid pier; a solid pile; a solid wall.
Hollow
Deceptively Meaningless
His apology felt hollow.
Solid
Applied to a compound word whose parts are closely united and form an unbroken word; - opposed to hyphened.
Hollow
Sunken or Concave
Hollow cheeks gave his face a gaunt look.
Solid
Fig.: Worthy of credit, trust, or esteem; substantial, as opposed to frivolous or fallacious; weighty; firm; strong; valid; just; genuine.
The solid purpose of a sincere and virtuous answer.
These, wanting wit, affect gravity, and go by the name of solid men.
The genius of the Italians wrought by solid toil what the myth-making imagination of the Germans had projected in a poem.
Solid
Sound; not weakly; as, a solid constitution of body.
Solid
Of a fleshy, uniform, undivided substance, as a bulb or root; not spongy or hollow within, as a stem.
Solid
Impenetrable; resisting or excluding any other material particle or atom from any given portion of space; - applied to the supposed ultimate particles of matter.
Solid
Not having the lines separated by leads; not open.
Solid
United; without division; unanimous; as, the delegation is solid for a candidate.
Repose you there; while I [return] to this hard house,More harder than the stones whereof 't is raised.
I hear his thundering voice resound,And trampling feet than shake the solid ground.
Solid
A substance that is held in a fixed form by cohesion among its particles; a substance not fluid.
Solid
A magnitude which has length, breadth, and thickness; a part of space bounded on all sides.
Solid
A substance that is solid at room temperature and pressure
Solid
The state in which a substance has no tendency to flow under moderate stress; resists forces (such as compression) that tend to deform it; and retains a definite size and shape
Solid
A three-dimensional shape
Solid
Of definite shape and volume; firm; neither liquid nor gaseous;
Ice is water in the solid state
Water and milk and blood are liquid substances
Solid
Of good substantial quality;
Solid comfort
A solid base hit
Solid
Entirely of one substance with no holes inside;
Solid silver
A solid block of wood
Solid
Of one substance or character throughout;
Solid gold
A solid color
Carved out of solid rock
Solid
Uninterrupted in space; having no gaps or breaks;
A solid line across the page
Solid sheets of water
Solid
Providing abundant nourishment;
A hearty meal
Good solid food
Ate a substantial breakfast
Solid
Of good quality and condition; solidly built;
A solid foundation
Several substantial timber buildings
Solid
Having high moral qualities;
A noble spirit
A solid citizen
An upstanding man
A worthy successor
Solid
Not soft or yielding to pressure;
A firm mattress
The snow was firm underfoot
Solid ground
Solid
Having three dimensions;
A solid object
Solid
Incapable of being seen through;
Solid blackness
Solid
Entirely of a single color throughout;
A solid fabric
Solid
Acting together as a single undiversified whole;
A solid voting bloc
Solid
Fully Compact
The sculpture was made from solid marble.
Solid
Without Hollows
The door was solid wood, very heavy.
Solid
Reliable
Her advice was always solid.
Solid
In Physical State
The compound remained solid at room temperature.
Common Curiosities
Do hollow and solid objects sound different?
Yes, hollow objects often produce an echoing sound.
Can something be partially hollow and solid?
Yes, objects can have both hollow and solid components.
Is a hollow object always lighter than a solid one?
Generally, but it depends on the materials involved.
Can both hollow and solid objects be strong?
Yes, both can be designed for strength, depending on their use.
Are hollow objects cheaper than solid ones?
Often, due to less material used, but not always.
Can hollow structures be filled?
Yes, they can be filled with other materials.
Are all gases considered hollow?
No, gases are neither hollow nor solid; they are a different state of matter.
What's the basic difference between hollow and solid?
Hollow has internal space; solid is fully compact.
Are all liquids considered solid?
No, solids maintain their shape, unlike liquids.
Is hollow always a negative term?
Not always, it can be practical or aesthetic.
Is a hollow design weaker than a solid design?
Not necessarily; it depends on the design and purpose.
Does hollow mean the same as empty?
In some contexts, but hollow implies a surrounding structure.
Can both terms apply to non-physical things?
Yes, like 'hollow promise' or 'solid evidence'.
Can solid objects float?
Yes, if they are less dense than the fluid they're in.
Can a solid object have hollow parts?
Yes, objects can have both solid and hollow parts.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
