loophole
A slit in a castle wallA slit in a castle wall; today, any similar window for shooting a ranged weapon or letting in light.
» Tom took advantage of a tax loophole.
Том воспользовался лазейкой в налоговом законодательстве. — sharptoothed
Spamster · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(historical)A slit in a castle wall; today, any similar window for shooting a ranged weapon or letting in light.
Schießscharte
амбразу́раambrazúra, бойни́цаbojníca
(figuratively)A method of escape, especially an ambiguity or exception in a rule or law that can be exploited in order to avoid its effect.
Ausflucht, Hintertürchen, Schlupfloch
лазе́йкаlazéjka, увёрткаuvjórtka
- a small hole in a fortified wall; for observation or discharging weapons
- an ambiguity (especially one in the text of a law or contract) that makes it possible to evade a difficulty or obligation
Examples
13 sentencesTom took advantage of a tax loophole.
ruТом воспользовался лазейкой в налоговом законодательстве. — sharptoothed
Maybe there's a loophole.
There are no loopholes.
Tom used a legal loophole.
deTom nutzte eine Gesetzeslücke. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
There are many loopholes in this system.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English loupe (“opening in a wall”) + hole, from a Germanic source. By surfaceFrom Middle English loupe (“opening in a wall”) + hole, from a Germanic source. By surface analysis, loop + hole. Compare Medieval Latin loupa, lobia and Middle Dutch lupen (“to watch”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: loopholesSynonyms
5 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsSee also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.