LOOPHOLE • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Loophole

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/lˈuphˌoʊl/ Listen

noun

Loophole n.

(Mil.) A small opening, as in the walls of fortification, or in the bulkhead of a ship, through which small arms or other weapons may be discharged at an enemy.

A hole or aperture that gives a passage, or the means of escape or evasion.

An amibiguity or unintended omission in a law, rule, regulation, or contract which allows a party to circumvent the intent of the text and avoid its obligations under certain circumstances. used usually in a negative sense; distinguished from escape clause in that the latter usually is included to deliberately allow evasion of obligation under certain specified and foreseen circumstances; as, a loophole in the law big enough to drive a truck through.

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Etymology of 'Loophole'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Loophole" Quotes from Famous Books

... soon as they were ranged before the jail, and demanded to speak with the governor. Their visit was not wholly unexpected, for his house, which fronted the street, was strongly barricaded, the wicket-gate of the prison was closed up, and at no loophole or grating was any person to be seen. Before they had repeated their summons many times, a man appeared upon the roof of the governor's house, and asked what it was ...

— Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern -- Volume 11 • Various

... produced when put into the hands of gillies and deer stalkers, and at every twenty yards or so there was a Scottish Horseman looking along his sights, finger on trigger, and by his side a spotter whose periscope was fixed on the opposite loophole. The moment a Turkish shadow darkened the loophole the word was given, the bullet sped. Not a very big mark a loophole at over 100 yards but they got it, they said, one ...

— Gallipoli Diary, Volume 2 • Ian Hamilton

... me, volunteered, there and then, to live like a cloistered nun during his absence; to go into no society whatever,—scarce even to a neighbour's dinner-party; and demanded bitterly if that would satisfy him. He said yes, held me to my word, and gave me no loophole for retracting it. The inevitable fruits of precipitancy have resulted to me: my life has become a burden. I get such invitations as these' (holding up the cards), 'but I so invariably refuse them that they are getting very rare. . . . I ask you, can ...

— Two on a Tower • Thomas Hardy

... it was twenty miles to the railroad! And, besides, the thought of confession was abhorrent. Physical injury, no matter how severe, was infinitely preferable to Helen Blake's disdain. He cast about desperately for some saving loophole, but found himself ...

— Going Some • Rex Beach

... audacious comedy he had been duped by. He was so frightfully agitated that five or six persons sprang forward exclaiming: "What is the matter, marquis? Are you ill?" But he made no reply. He felt that he was caught in a trap, and he glanced wildly around him seeking for some loophole of escape. ...

— Baron Trigault's Vengeance - Volume 2 (of 2) • Emile Gaboriau

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