sinkhole

4 definitions • 6 examples

a hole in the ground, especially in an area of limestone rock, that has been formed naturally, for example by water that has worn away the rock:

Rain gradually dissolves the limestone, forming features such as limestone pavements, sinkholes, and caves.

a large hole that suddenly appears in the ground when the surface of the ground is no longer supported:

A massive sinkhole has opened over old potash mines in the area.

A man was missing early Friday after a large sinkhole opened under the bedroom of his house in Florida.

part of a computer network or server to which internet activity is directed so that it cannot damage the part it is being aimed at:

Once the traffic is isolated in a sinkhole, it can no longer hurt its intended targets.

Distributed sinkholes are a standard feature of the infrastructure of all major Internet Service Providers today.

to direct internet activity to a different part of a network or server, so that it cannot damage the part it is being aimed at:

This simple act sinkholed the malware.