pigeonhole
one of a series of small, open compartments, as in a desk, cabinet, or the like, used for filing or sorting papers, letters, etc.
Also called pigeon hole, white hole. Printing. white space created by setting words or lines too far apart.
to assign to a definite place or to definite places in some orderly system: to pigeonhole new ideas.
to lay aside for use or reference at some later, indefinite time: We must pigeonhole this excellent plan until the time is ripe.
to put aside for the present, especially with the intention of ignoring or forgetting, often indefinitely: to pigeonhole an unwanted invitation.
to place in or as if in a pigeonhole or pigeonholes: to pigeonhole papers.
to fit or provide with pigeonholes: The desk must be pigeonholed for all my papers.
Origin of pigeonhole
1Other words for pigeonhole
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use pigeonhole in a sentence
As noted by Emma Sona, the pigeonhole principle dictated that having a fifth cut meant that one of the four corners would have two cuts.
Can You Systematically Solve A Friday Crossword? | Zach Wissner-Gross (riddlercolumn@gmail.com) | April 30, 2021 | FiveThirtyEightDid you every feel like Hollywood was trying to pigeonhole you as the token “hot” woman?
Alice Eve, the Beautiful New Trekkie, Talks ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ | Marlow Stern | May 18, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIn high school especially, kids often pigeonhole each other to make themselves feel better about their own differences.
In any trial, he would be hard to pigeonhole and harder to control.
Kitty ran into Crozier's room, thrust the letter into its pigeonhole in the desk, and in a moment was back again.
You Never Know Your Luck, Complete | Gilbert Parker
“I see,” said Loris, reaching into a pigeonhole and drawing out a small yellow check-book.
Whispering Wires | Henry LeverageShe tied it up, so to speak, in a neat package and put it in a pigeonhole.
The Salamander | Owen JohnsonThe Lone Ranger reasoned that the object, whatever it was, had been in the last disordered pigeonhole.
The Lone Ranger Rides | Fran StrikerEach classified group is metaphorically a pigeonhole to contain similar material.
The Classification of Patents | United States Patent Office
British Dictionary definitions for pigeonhole
/ (ˈpɪdʒɪnˌhəʊl) /
a small compartment for papers, letters, etc, as in a bureau
a hole or recess in a dovecote for pigeons to nest in
informal a category or classification
to put aside or defer
to classify or categorize, esp in a rigid manner
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
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