perforate

[pur-fuh-reyt, pur-fer-it, -fuh-reyt]

verb (used with object)

perforated, perforating 

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.

verb (used without object)

perforated, perforating 

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

adjective

1. perforated.

perforate

/ 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

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of perforate¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of perforate¹

C16: from Latin perforāre, from per- through + forāre to pierce

Example Sentences

Paris Jackson, daughter of Michael Jackson, gets candid about the toll taken by her past drug use, including a perforated septum.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She started by securing the property’s front entrance with recycled perforated screens and new landscaping.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Drug misuse, chemical exposure, autoimmune diseases and infections are among the conditions that can cause a perforated septum.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Dozens of pasta formats, made with flour from the company’s own mill, are shaped by traditional bronze dies, or perforated disks.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Beth Ashton, 25, weighed less than her four-year-old sister, had a perforated lung and her bladder had "completely collapsed" by the time she died last November.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• puncture