How to Use be/stay holed up in a Sentence

be/stay holed up

idiom
  • He and his wife could be holed up for months, or years.
    Washington Post, 17 Jan. 2022
  • As deputies cleared residents from nearby homes, smoke was seen coming out of the apartment where the suspect was believed to be holed up, deputies said.
    Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Jan. 2023
  • If not for a pandemic, Mullen and his team would be holed up at a local hotel to avoid outside distractions.
    Edgar Thompson, orlandosentinel.com, 4 Sep. 2020
  • For the next few years, every as yet unapprehended criminal was assumed to be holed up with the Bank of Alaska robber.
    David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 29 Aug. 2021
  • As restaurants close their doors to dine-in customers and millions of Americans stay holed up at home, food delivery workers are more crucial than ever.
    Taylor Mooney, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2020
  • Iraqi forces routinely carry out anti-IS operations in the rugged mountainous northern region and the deserts of western Iraq where they are known to be holed up.
    Star Tribune, 30 July 2021
  • Ukrainian officials deny the city has fallen, but its last defenders appeared to be holed up and dwindling in numbers amid a desperate fight.
    Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2022
  • Hotels were already seeing a massive loss of business given the shrinking of the convention; it was learned that a third of those who were still attending would be holed up in Marquette University residence halls.
    Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2019
  • Turkey and Britain — and most of their troops will be holed up in fortified embassy compounds or securing Kabul International Airport, that last major gateway out of the country.
    Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 2 July 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'be/stay holed up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: