Noun

1. originally, a hole in a mineshaft where an orebody is mined upwards until it breaks through the surface into the open air.
2. a hole in a screen or wall big enough to allow an erect penis to be stuck through, made to have anonymous sex with another person. Glory holes are often found in public toilets and are likely to be used for gay male activities.
3. a military trench.
4. A hole in the side of a furnace used to heat glass held on a metal rod
5. in merchant and Royal Navy:
   1. In the Navy this refers to a place for general untidinesses.
   2. On passenger liners the Stewards' mess is referred to as the the 'glory hole'
   3. On coal-burning tramp steamers, the stokehold was referred to as the 'glory hole'