divot

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablesport

   A small clump of grass and soil that gets knocked out of the ground, especially by a golf club, leaving a hole.

   Grammar: Countable: he replaced the divot after his swing.

   Patterns

   • replace a divot
   • take a divot

   He took a large divot with his iron.

   Golfers are asked to replace every divot they make.

   The horse's hooves left divots across the field.

2. 2nouncountableinformal

   Any small dent or hollow in a surface, such as a road, a pitch or a lawn.

   Grammar: Countable and informal in this wider use: the mower hit a divot.

   Patterns

   • a divot in something

   The ball hopped over a divot in the pitch.

   The truck left deep divots in the soft lawn.

   He ran his finger over the divot in the wooden table.

Word forms

Common combinations

replace a divot

Please replace your divot and press it down with your foot.

take a divot

She took a neat divot as she hit the ball.

fill a divot

The groundskeeper filled each divot with sand and seed.

deep divot

His ball landed in a deep divot.

divot tool

He carries a divot tool in his golf bag.

Synonyms and how they differ

turf

Turf is the grass and soil as a layer, while a divot is a single chunk torn out of it.

sod

Sod is a cut piece of grassy ground laid on purpose, while a divot is torn out by accident.

dent

Dent is a general word for any hollow, and a divot is the specific hole left in grass.

hollow

Hollow is a broader term for a sunken place and does not suggest that something was torn up.

Word family

divoted adjective

marked with divots

divot tool noun

a small fork used by golfers to repair turf

Commonly confused: divot or pivot?

Practice

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