pigeonhole
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: compound
Topics: entertainment
lifestyle
media
nautical
publishing
theater
transport
typography
Etymology: The noun is derived from pigeon + hole. The verb is derived from the noun.
Compound parts: pigeon
hole
Inflected forms:
form: pigeonholes
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: pigeon-hole
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: pigeon hole
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: pigeonholes
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: pigeonholing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: pigeonholed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: pigeonholed
pos: verb
tags: past
form: pigeon-hole
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: pigeon hole
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: pigeon-hole
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: pigeon hole
pos: verb
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: One of an array of open compartments for housing pigeons in a dovecote or pigeon loft.
pos: noun
examples: Holonyms: pigeon loft, dovecote, columbary, columbarium
gloss: A hole or opening in a door or wall for a pigeon to pass through.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
examples: The loft was lighted by a semicircular hole, though which the pigeons crept to their lodgings in the same high quarters of the premises; […] 'Dear Clym, I wonder how your face looks now?' she said, gazing abstractedly at the pigeon-hole, which admitted the sunlight so directly upon her brown hair and transparent tissues that it almost seemed to shine through her.
gloss: One of an array of open compartments in a desk, set of shelves, etc., used for sorting or storing letters, papers, or other items.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
examples: Abbé [Emmanuel Joseph] Sieyès has vvhole neſts of pigeon-holes full of conſtitutions ready made, ticketed, ſorted, and numbered; ſuited to every ſeaſon and every fancy; […]
Blank ink and red ink, pounce, wafers, wax, pens, seals, imbibing-paper, rulers, files, were all there; pegs for hats, shelves and hooks, pigeon-holes full of samples of sugar, of rice, tobacco, coffee, and the like: all the dull paraphernalia of a trader's elaboratory.
This has been fitted with blocks of pigeon-holes, 1029 in number, for the reception of the alphabetically arranged slips.
gloss: One of an array of open compartments in a desk, set of shelves, etc., used for sorting or storing letters, papers, or other items.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
examples: Fred was disappointed to find his pigeonhole empty except for bills and a flyer offering 20% off on manicures.
[H]e walked across Hawthorn Tree Court on his way to the porter's lodge. […] At the lodge he cleared his pigeon-hole.
gloss: A compartment or cubicle in a room or other place, especially one which is (excessively) small.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
examples: The general size of a store in Tangier is about that of an ordinary shower-bath in a civilized land. […] You can rent a whole block of these pigeon-holes for fifty dollars a month.
gloss: A small opening for looking or passing things through.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
examples: However, as my friend came dodging towards my door, I saw him through the usual pigeon hole through which warders speak to their prisoners.
gloss: A small opening for looking or passing things through.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
broadly
gloss: A form of stocks with openings for restraining a person's hands or feet; also, one of the openings in the device.
pos: noun
tags: also
attributive
broadly
historical
in-plural
examples: [D]ovvne vvith him in his Maieſties name, dovvne, dovvne vvith him, and carry him avvay, to the pigeon-holes.
gloss: A seat in the top row of the gallery of a theatre.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
obsolete
examples: The Play is done: For from the Pigeon-hole / I heard them hiſs the Curtain as it fell.
gloss: A notional category or class into which someone or something is placed.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: The Beat writers had very different styles and disliked the invented term and pigeonhole forced upon them.
Amazon's new pigeonhole for books about unmarried females is far more old-fashioned than the 'New Woman novel' tag deployed in the 19th century
gloss: A space between two words that is too wide.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
figuratively
examples: Theſe vvide VVhites are by Compoſiters (in vvay of Scandal) call'd Pidgeon-holes, and are by none accounted good VVorkmanſhip, unleſs in ſuch caſes of neceſſity, as aforeſaid. […] And if he [a compositor] Sets too VVide, and he chance to Set a VVord to tvvo tvvice over, he may be forc'd to make Pidgeon-holes e're he come to a Break, […]
gloss: To construct pigeonholes (noun sense 1 or 3.1) in (a place); also, to subdivide (a place) into pigeonholes.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I had proposed to pigeon-hole the walls of the drawing-room for the reception of the dictionary material.
gloss: To put (letters, papers, or other items) into pigeonholes or small compartments; also, to arrange or sort (items) by putting into pigeonholes.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I would rather have my ashes scattered over the soil, to help the growth of the grass and daisies; but still I should not murmur much at having them decently pigeon-holed in a Roman tomb.
gloss: To arrange (items) for future reference or use.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
transitive
gloss: To put aside (advice, a proposal, or other matter) for future consideration instead of acting on it immediately; to shelve.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
transitive
examples: [S]everal laws and regulations were enacted for the prevention of cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, and diphtheria. These laws were not carried into effect: they were pigeon-holed.
This year, and in former years, politicians have set up that they were cheated, and have vociferously declared that they had the evidence. But no one prosecutes. No one swears out a warrant. The evidence is pigeonholed.
"Putting the prophet Hosea to one side for the moment and temporarily pigeon-holing the children of Adullam," interrupted Myrtle, "what are we going to do about this?"
The Select Committee's recommendation that those which the railways are required to provide on grounds of national interest or social needs should be subsidised by the state has obviously been pigeon-holed.
A committee chairperson will typically send the bill on to a subcommittee. […] Alternatively, the chairperson may decide to put the bill aside and ignore it. Most bills that are pigeonholed in this manner receive no further action.
gloss: To place (someone or something) into a notional category or class, especially in a way which makes unjustified assumptions or which is restrictive; to categorize, to classify, to label.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
transitive
examples: Fred was tired of being pigeonholed as a computer geek.
He prided himself on his largeness when he granted that there were three kinds of women […] Not that he pigeon-holed Frona according to his inherited definitions. He refused to classify her at all. He did not dare.
I'm not gonna be able, to top on My Name Is / And pigeonholed into some poppy sensation
The singer, real name Emma Grankvist, deals in whip-smart lyrics and striking melodies that offer a refreshing perspective on the world around her, all wrapped up in a package that's brilliantly tough to pigeonhole.
Derived words: pidge
pigeonhole principle
pigeonholes
pigeonholeable
pigeonholed
pigeonholer
pigeonholing
Translations:
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 分類架 /分类架
roman: fēnlèijià
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 文件架
roman: wénjiànjià
lang: Czech
word: [poštovní] přihrádka
lang: Dutch
word: vak
lang: Finnish
word: lokero
lang: German
word: Fach
lang: Greek
word: γραμματοθυρίδα
roman: grammatothyrída
lang: Greek
word: θυρίδα
roman: thyrída
lang: Italian
word: casellario
lang: Macedonian
word: преграда
roman: pregrada
lang: Macedonian
word: чекмеџе
roman: čekmedže
lang: Macedonian
word: фах
roman: fah
lang: Portuguese
word: escaninho
lang: Russian
word: отделе́ние для бума́г
roman: otdelénije dlja bumág
lang: Spanish
word: casilla
lang: Spanish
word: casillero
lang: Swedish
word: fack
lang: Finnish
word: kulkuaukko
lang: Finnish
word: pujotusaukko