Lexic.us

Definition of Black hole

1. Noun. A region of space resulting from the collapse of a star; extremely high gravitational field.

Definition of Black hole

1. Noun. A gravitationally domineering celestial body with an event horizon from which even light cannot escape; the most dense material in the universe, condensed into a singularity, usually formed by a collapsing massive star. ¹

2. Noun. A sphere of influence into which or from which communication or similar activity is precluded. ¹

3. Noun. An entity which consumes time or resources without demonstrable utility. ¹

4. Noun. A dungeon or dark cell in a prison; a military lock-up or guardroom. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Medical Definition of Black hole

1. 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, into which 146 English prisoners were thrust by the nabob Suraja Dowla on the night of June 20, 17656, and in which 123 of the prisoners died before morning from lack of air. "A discipline of unlimited autocracy, upheld by rods, and ferules, and the black hole." (H. Spencer) Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Black Hole

Literary usage of Black hole

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Cambridge Modern History by John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton Acton, Ernest Alfred Benians, Sir Adolphus William Ward, George Walter Prothero (1909)
"... prisoners were thrust into the notorious black hole, or military punishment cell, of the fortress. It was the hottest season of the Indian summer, ..."

2. Readings in Modern European History: A Collection of Extracts from the by James Harvey Robinson, Charles Austin Beard (1908)
"An account of this episode of the "black hole" of Calcutta is given by an officer who was at the time in the service of the East India Service. ..."

3. A History of England by James Franck Bright (1889)
"The black hole . •> iJ •f Calcutta,. The prisoners, 146 in number, ... The horrors of the black hole of Calcutta were beyond expression terrible ; the heat ..."

4. Echoes from Old Calcutta: Being Chiefly Reminiscences of the Days of Warren by Henry Elmsley Busteed (1888)
"The bodies of those who perished in the black hole were buried outside the Fort, in the ditch of the unfinished ravelin: so we are told by the chief ..."

5. Readings in European History: A Collection of Extracts from the Sources by James Harvey Robinson (1906)
"An 1756). officer of the East India Company then in India thus describes the episode of the "black hole," which indicates the dangers to which the English ..."

6. The Political History of England by William Hunt, Reginald Lane Poole (1912)
"The tragedy of " the black hole of Calcutta" added to the public gloom, which since the dismissal of Pitt had again set in ..."

7. The Imperial Gazetteer of India by Sir William Wilson Hunter (1885)
"The site of Calcutta has itself been raised by the debris and accumulations of a great capital. Thus, the old floor of the black hole, excavated in 1883-84, ..."

8. The Cambridge Modern History by John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton Acton, Ernest Alfred Benians, Sir Adolphus William Ward, George Walter Prothero (1909)
"... prisoners were thrust into the notorious black hole, or military punishment cell, of the fortress. It was the hottest season of the Indian summer, ..."

9. Readings in Modern European History: A Collection of Extracts from the by James Harvey Robinson, Charles Austin Beard (1908)
"An account of this episode of the "black hole" of Calcutta is given by an officer who was at the time in the service of the East India Service. ..."

10. A History of England by James Franck Bright (1889)
"The black hole . •> iJ •f Calcutta,. The prisoners, 146 in number, ... The horrors of the black hole of Calcutta were beyond expression terrible ; the heat ..."

11. Echoes from Old Calcutta: Being Chiefly Reminiscences of the Days of Warren by Henry Elmsley Busteed (1888)
"The bodies of those who perished in the black hole were buried outside the Fort, in the ditch of the unfinished ravelin: so we are told by the chief ..."

12. Readings in European History: A Collection of Extracts from the Sources by James Harvey Robinson (1906)
"An 1756). officer of the East India Company then in India thus describes the episode of the "black hole," which indicates the dangers to which the English ..."

13. The Political History of England by William Hunt, Reginald Lane Poole (1912)
"The tragedy of " the black hole of Calcutta" added to the public gloom, which since the dismissal of Pitt had again set in ..."

14. The Imperial Gazetteer of India by Sir William Wilson Hunter (1885)
"The site of Calcutta has itself been raised by the debris and accumulations of a great capital. Thus, the old floor of the black hole, excavated in 1883-84, ..."

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