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Synonyms

cubbyhole

American  
[kuhb-ee-hohl] / ˈkʌb iˌhoʊl /

noun

  • cubbyholes
    plural
  1. pigeonhole.

  2. a small, snug place.


cubbyhole British  
/ ˈkʌbɪˌhəʊl /

noun

  1. a small enclosed space or room

  2. any small compartment, such as a pigeonhole

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of cubbyhole

First recorded in 1835–45; cubby + hole


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.

See Examples For:

One classmate decided it’d be fun to raid my cubbyhole, fish out my report card, read it aloud.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Previosly voted Wales' favourite word, Cwtch means hug or cuddle - however it's second meaning is a cubbyhole or cupboard; a small space in which to store things safely.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2024

“I don’t begrudge anyone retiring,” longtime regular Daniel Eiben said Sept. 15, poking his head into Yoshimura’s cluttered cubbyhole of an office on the store’s penultimate day in business.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 5, 2023

They traveled in the same direction from the Oval Office to their offices in the northwest corner of the White House, which shared a cubbyhole bathroom.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 24, 2020

Through the steamy panes of the glassed- in cubbyhole that served as the coaches’ office, they could see Ulbrickson and Bolles hunched over a desk in their flannel suits, studying a piece of paper.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Report cards weren’t handed out; they were slotted into our personal cubbyholes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

By contrast, “Untitled” from 1998 is a grid of black cubbyholes, each one containing a found treasure: a baby doll’s head, a Japanese daruma doll, a plastic apple, the head of the Red Power Ranger.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2023

Different passes allow different levels of access to halls, bars, committee rooms and cubbyholes within the Victorian-age premises.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2021

Some species carve cubbyholes in tree trunks to stash acorns.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 2, 2018

He ran to the row of cubbyholes and examined the markings on the scroll cases.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

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