pigeonhole
Americannoun
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one of a series of small, open compartments, as in a desk, cabinet, or the like, used for filing or sorting papers, letters, etc.
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a hole or recess, or one of a series of recesses, for pigeons to nest in.
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Also called white hole. Also called pigeon hole,. Printing. white space created by setting words or lines too far apart.
verb (used with object)
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to assign to a definite place or to definite places in some orderly system.
to pigeonhole new ideas.
- Synonyms:
- catalog, categorize
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to lay aside for use or reference at some later, indefinite time.
We must pigeonhole this excellent plan until the time is ripe.
- Synonyms:
- file
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to put aside for the present, especially with the intention of ignoring or forgetting, often indefinitely.
to pigeonhole an unwanted invitation.
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to place in or as if in a pigeonhole or pigeonholes.
to pigeonhole papers.
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to fit or provide with pigeonholes.
The desk must be pigeonholed for all my papers.
noun
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a small compartment for papers, letters, etc, as in a bureau
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a hole or recess in a dovecote for pigeons to nest in
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informal a category or classification
verb
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to put aside or defer
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to classify or categorize, esp in a rigid manner
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has pigeonholedperfect 3rd person singular
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have pigeonholedperfect
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are pigeonholingprogressive
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am pigeonholingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been pigeonholingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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pigeonholessingular 3rd person
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have been pigeonholingperfect progressive
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is pigeonholingprogressive 3rd person singular
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pigeonholingparticiple
Past
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had pigeonholedperfect
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were pigeonholingprogressive plural
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was pigeonholingprogressive singular
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had been pigeonholingperfect progressive
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pigeonholedparticiple
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pigeonholedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of pigeonhole
Explanation
A pigeonhole is a small nesting area for a pigeon, or a similarly cozy compartment or alcove. If you feel like you're stuck in a restrictive category — only thought of as someone's sister, for example — that's another kind of pigeonhole. A cubbyhole in your desk is one kind of pigeonhole, and the little box where a domesticated pigeon sleeps is another. These original meanings date from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By the 1870s, pigeonhole had also come to mean "an overly simplistic or restrictive category," and also "to assign someone to a rigid category." So when you assume that a circus clown couldn't also be a brilliant mathematician, you have pigeonholed him.
Vocabulary lists containing pigeonhole
The Legislative Branch, Sections 4–6
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Accountable
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“If we embrace narrow group-based identities too fiercely, we cling to the very cages in which others would seek to trap us. We pigeonhole ourselves.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026
"Aerospace has something for people with different backgrounds, different qualifications, there's so much variety. So don't pigeonhole yourself, there really is something for everyone here."
From BBC • Jul. 18, 2025
“If within being pigeonholed I can create a rich acting experience — which is why I became an actor — pigeonhole me, go ahead,” Bell says.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2024
Regarding, Laura's edit: The show needs a villain, and in many instances, they try to pigeonhole someone who doesn't, in any way, fit those criteria.
From Salon • May 22, 2024
This bit of common sense, sometimes termed the pigeonhole or Dirichlet drawer principle, can occasionally be used to derive claims that are not so obvious.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
