perforate

American  

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

He observes that librarians seem to hate books, eager as they are to perforate and stamp them.

From New York Times ● Jul. 18, 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

The cytotrophoblast cells perforate the chorionic villi, burrow farther into the endometrium, and remodel maternal blood vessels to augment maternal blood flow surrounding the villi.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Poritidae.—Incrusting or massive colonial perforate corals; calices usually in contact by their edges, sometimes disjunct and immersed in coenenchyme.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various

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

In spring it perforates its silken prison, and soon makes its escape a splendid butterfly, subsisting upon the juices of the flowers obtained through its proboscis.

From Adventures of a Young Naturalist by Parker Gillmore

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2025

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

Kendra had no moves left on her perforated board.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

Her son, Hubertus von Hohenlohe, said she died after breaking her ribs and perforating her lungs in a domestic accident.

From New York Times ● Mar. 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

While stationed in Liverpool as a Royal Air Force physical training instructor, a doodlebug landed near Max, perforating his eardrums and leading to a spell laid up in hospital.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2019

He said Essure carries some serious risks, such as perforating the uterus or Fallopian tubes if it is implanted improperly.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 21, 2015

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

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Related Words

• puncture