Loophole

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Loophole \Loop"hole`\, n.
     1. (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.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. A hole or aperture that gives a passage, or the means of
        escape or evasion.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. 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.
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  loophole
       n 1: an ambiguity (especially one in the text of a law or
            contract) that makes it possible to evade a difficulty
            or obligation
       2: a small hole in a fortified wall; for observation or
          discharging weapons

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  146 Moby Thesaurus words for "loophole":
     Texas tower, abatis, advanced work, air hole, alternative, armhole,
     avenue, balistraria, bank, banquette, barbed-wire entanglement,
     barbican, barricade, barrier, bartizan, bastion, battlement,
     beacon, belvedere, bleachers, blowhole, breastwork, bridge,
     bullet-hole, bulwark, bunghole, casemate, channel, cheval-de-frise,
     choice, chute, circumvallation, conning tower, contravallation,
     counterscarp, cringle, curtain, deadeye, debouch, demibastion,
     dike, dodge, door, drawbridge, earthwork, egress, emunctory,
     enclosure, entanglement, escape, escape clause, escape hatch,
     escarp, escarpment, estuary, evasion, exhaust, exit, eye, eyelet,
     fence, fieldwork, floodgate, flume, fortalice, fortification,
     gallery, gasket, gazebo, glacis, grandstand, grommet, guide,
     keyhole, knothole, lighthouse, lookout, loop, lunette,
     machicolation, manhole, mantelet, merlon, mound, mousehole,
     observation post, observatory, opening, out, outcome, outfall,
     outgate, outgo, outlet, outlook, outwork, overlook, palisade,
     parados, parapet, peanut gallery, peephole, pharos, pigeonhole,
     pinhole, placket, placket hole, pore, port, portcullis, porthole,
     postern gate, pretext, punch-hole, quibble, rampart, ravelin,
     redan, redoubt, ringside, ringside seat, sally port, saving clause,
     scarp, sconce, sighthole, sluice, spiracle, spout, stockade,
     subterfuge, tap, tenaille, top gallery, tower, vallation, vallum,
     vent, ventage, venthole, vomitory, watchtower, way of escape,
     way out, weir, work