Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Hollowed out: Describes an object, typically made of wood, that has been internally eaten away or tunneled through by insects or borers, leaving it empty or porous inside while the external surface may appear intact.
   • Eaten hollow: Refers specifically to the state resulting from infestation, where the material's core is destroyed.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Chiếc bàn gỗ cũ đã bị mọt đục ruỗng. (The old wooden table has been hollowed out by borers.)
  • Khúc gỗ ruỗng này không thể dùng được nữa. (This hollowed-out log is no longer usable.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "ruỗng" is almost exclusively used to describe damage caused by wood-boring insects. It implies a specific process of internal decay rather than general breakage or rot.
• It can be used metaphorically in literature to describe something that has been eroded or undermined from within, though this is rare.

Variants and Related Words

• Rỗng (adj): Simply means "empty" or "hollow" in a general sense, not necessarily due to pests.
  • Cái hộp rỗng. (The box is empty.)

Synonyms

• Hollowed-out: Emptied from the inside.
• Tunneled: Bored through, creating passages.
• Infested (wood): Damaged by pests.

Related Idioms

• There are no common idioms directly using "ruỗng". The concept is typically expressed literally.

1. Hollowed out (by borers...)
   • Mọt đục ruỗng bàn
     The table is hollowed out (eaten hollow) by borers