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pinhole

[pin-hohl]
noun
  1. a small hole made by or as by a pin.
  2. a hole for a pin to go through; tiny aperture.
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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

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

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper