pinhole

[pin-hohl]

noun

a small hole made by or as by a pin.
a hole for a pin to go through; tiny aperture.

Origin of pinhole

First recorded in 1670–80; pin + hole

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pin-hole

Historical Examples of pin-hole

To sew a button on securely you should make a pin-hole where the button is to be placed.
The Library of Work and Play: Needlecraft
Effie Archer Archer
The background for the pin-hole should be the sky or other bright surface.
Visual Illusions
Matthew Luckiesh
This is best done through a filter perforated at its apex by a pin-hole.
A Practical Physiology
Albert F. Blaisdell
The existence of the pin-hole pupil is also a contraindication to its employment.
A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I
Various
A Pin-hole Camera is another extremely simple yet extraordinarily interesting contrivance (Fig. 100).
Toy-Making at Home
Morley Adams

British Dictionary definitions for pin-hole

pinhole

noun

a small hole made with or as if with a pin
archery the exact centre of an archery target, in the middle of the gold zone

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 pin-hole

1670s, from pin (n.) + hole (n.).