cubbyhole

[kuhb-ee-hohl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cubbyhole ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

pigeonhole.

a small, snug place.

Origin of cubbyhole

First recorded in 1835–45; cubby + hole

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cubbyhole

category, niche, cranny, cubicle, nook

Examples from the Web for cubbyhole

Historical Examples of cubbyhole

Murgatroyd remained in his cubbyhole, his tail curled over his nose.
Pariah Planet
Murray Leinster
He went to sleep, with Murgatroyd curled up in his cubbyhole.
Pariah Planet
Murray Leinster
But he marched away, back to the cubbyhole in which he had awakened.
Sand Doom
William Fitzgerald Jenkins
Back in his cubbyhole downstairs, Walter stared hopelessly at the reports.
Meeting of the Board
Alan Edward Nourse
He began to empty the cubbyhole of all the items that had been packed into it for storage.
The Pirates of Ersatz
Murray Leinster

British Dictionary definitions for cubbyhole

cubbyhole

noun

a small enclosed space or room

any small compartment, such as a pigeonhole

Often shortened to: cubby (ˈkʌbɪ)

Word Origin for cubbyhole

C19: from dialect cub cattle pen; see cove 1

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

Word Origin and History for cubbyhole

1825, the first element possibly from a diminutive of cub "stall, pen, cattle shed, coop, hutch" (1540s), a dialect word with apparent cognates in Low German (e.g. East Frisian kubbing, Dutch kub). Or related to cuddy "small room, cupboard" (1793), originally "small cabin in a boat" (1650s), from Dutch kajuit, from French cahute. Or perhaps simply a children's made-up word.