perforate

American  

[pur-fuh-rayt, pur-fer-it, -fuh-rayt] / ˈpɜr fəˌreɪt, ˈpɜr fər ɪt, -fəˌreɪt /

verb (used with object)

• perforates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• perforated,
  past participle,  past
• perforating
  present participle

1. to make a hole or holes through by boring, punching, piercing, or the like.

2. to pierce through or to the interior of; penetrate.

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verb (used without object)

• perforates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• perforated,
  past participle,  past
• perforating
  present participle

1. to make a way through or into something; penetrate.

adjective

1. perforated.

perforate British  

/ ˈpɜːfərəbəl /

verb

1. to make a hole or holes in (something); penetrate

2. (tr) to punch rows of holes between (stamps, coupons, etc) for ease of separation

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adjective

1. biology

   1. pierced by small holes

      perforate shells

   2. marked with small transparent spots

2. philately another word for perforated

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• perforator
  noun
• multiperforate
  adjective
• nonperforating
  adjective
• perforable
  adjective
• perforative
  adjective
• unperforable
  adjective
• unperforating
  adjective
• unperforative
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• perforating
  present
• perforated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• perforate
  simple
• perforates
  simple
• have perforated
  perfect
• has perforated
  perfect
• am perforating
  progressive
• are perforating
  progressive
• is perforating
  progressive
• have been perforating
  perfect progressive
• has been perforating
  perfect progressive

Past

• perforated
  simple
• had perforated
  perfect
• was perforating
  progressive
• were perforating
  progressive
• had been perforating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will perforate
  simple
• will have perforated
  perfect
• will be perforating
  progressive
• will have been perforating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of perforate

1530–40; < Latin perforātus, past participle of perforāre to bore ² through; see per-

Explanation

When you perforate something, you make a hole in it, like when you poke holes in a piece of aluminum foil to let steam escape while something is cooking. The word perforate has origins in the Latin word perforatus, the past participle of perforare, meaning “to bore through.” When you perforate something that’s essentially what you do: you bore through it, or punch a hole or holes in it like paper you perforate to fit the rings on your binder, or a leather belt that has been perforated with holes so that you can buckle it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

perforate perforates perforated perforating

The state has also been a major oil and gas producer for more than a century, and authorities are well aware some 35,000 old, inactive oil and gas wells perforate the landscape.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 31, 2022

Scopes can cause bleeding or even perforate the bowel, something that occurs in about one of every 2,500 procedures.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 18, 2021

Circular apertures perforate the Viroc walls, pixelating the view and transforming the flamboyant landscape into a pointillist canvas; it’s the inverse of trompe l’oeil, with natural beauty manipulated to look like painting.

From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2021

So that the Americans outshot the Canadians, 45-23, is important because they know they can perforate the defense in the gold medal game.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 15, 2018

At the base of the third digit the tendon ensheathes that of the m. flexor digitorum longus and the two together perforate the tendon of the m. flexor perforatus digiti III.

From Myology and Serology of the Avian Family Fringillidae A Taxonomic Study by William B. Stallcup

At its deepest point, the cut perforates about 3 inches into the tree’s trunk.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024

Complications include chronic pain and mesh erosion, where the device cuts through tissue and perforates organs.

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2022

Apollo 13 13: During Elon Musk’s maiden voyage, his ego becomes so big that it perforates the spaceship’s hull, necessitating a dangerous rescue.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 1, 2018

“Putting all this extra stitching in one place, however, actually perforates the fabric so I spread out the reinforcement stitching, forming an ‘X’ at each stress point.” 

From Slate ● Dec. 26, 2012

Sunlight perforates the block of ice from the center outward; so the love of God perforates the heart to its depths and lets the tears of affection, pity, and sympathy flow out.

From How to Live a Holy Life by Charles Ebert Orr

The barb on Mr. King’s hook, sharpened by Mr. Flanagan, is how Carrie’s buoyant expectations, and ours, are so gleefully perforated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Robyn Goldie died after suffering a perforated duodenal ulcer.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2025

I started doing research into really nerdy stuff, and the perforated walls you see in the dark corridors are shipping pallets.”

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2025

Most of it is extremely low-lying and perforated by tidal canals.

From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2025

Servants wheel in carts of porcelain jars with perforated lids.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

In Zachary's case it ended up perforating at 28 weeks which led to an emergency C-section.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2024

The practice of perforating pipelines and storing oil in pools in the jungle is an environmental disaster, Reuters reported last year, after visiting clandestine refineries in Narino province.

From Reuters ● Jul. 27, 2023

But Borum noted that it’s not unusual for people with ulcers to be asymptomatic until they develop a complication, such as bleeding or perforating, as in Dingell’s case.

From Washington Post ● May 26, 2021

I showed up at my HMO's ER with what turned out to be a flipped colon that was on its way to perforating and had 3 a.m. surgery a few days before Christmas.

From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2016

Modernity, led by the automobile, was perforating the frontier.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Related Words

• puncture