Hole is the most common and accepted term, also called electron hole or sometimes a positive hole in more technical contexts. In solid-state physics, a hole is a conceptual particle that represents the absence of an electron in a material's atomic structure. In a perfectly pure semiconductor at absolute zero temperature, all electrons are tightly bound in their positions, leaving no room for movement. When enough energy (from heat or light, for example) is supplied, an electron can break free and jump to a higher energy state, leaving behind an empty spot. This vacancy, or hole, behaves as if it were a mobile particle with a positive charge equal in magnitude to the negative charge of an electron. In simple terms, a hole is the opposite of an electron, while electrons carry negative charge, holes behave like positive charges. In p-type semiconductors, holes are the majority carriers, and in n-type semiconductors, electrons are the majority carriers. This distinction is why the Hall coefficient can be positive (for holes) or negative (for electrons).
