pigeonhole

plural pigeonholes · alternative pigeon-hole · alternative pigeon hole

1. One of an array of open compartments for housing pigeons in a dovecote or pigeon loft.

   Holonyms: pigeon loft, dovecote, columbary, columbarium

2. archaicA hole or opening in a door or wall for a pigeon to pass through.

   1 more example

   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.

   1878 January–December, Thomas Hardy, “The People at Blooms-End Make Ready”, in The Return of the Native […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], published 1878, →OCLC, book II (The Arrival), pages 246–248

3. broadlyOne of an array of open compartments in a desk, set of shelves, etc., used for sorting or storing letters, papers, or other items.

   This has been fitted with blocks of pigeon-holes, 1029 in number, for the reception of the alphabetically arranged slips.

   1879, J[ames] A[ugustus] H[enry] Murray, Address to the Philological Society, page 8; quoted in “Pigeon-hole, sb.”, in James A[ugustus] H[enry] Murray [et al.], editors, A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume VII (O–P), London: Clarendon Press, 1884–1928, →OCLC, page 846, column 3

   2 more 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; […]

   1796, Edmund Burke, A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord, on the Attacks Made upon Him and His Pension, […], London: […] J. Owen, […], and F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC, page 63

   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.

   1862, George Augustus Sala, “The Ship-chandler. A Story of a Seaport One Hundred Years Ago. Chapter III. Evil upon Evil.”, in The Ship Chandler and Other Tales, London: Ward and Lock, […], →OCLC, page 48

   Synonyms: cubbyhole

   1. broadlyOne of an array of open compartments for receiving mail and other messages at a college, office, etc.

      Fred was disappointed to find his pigeonhole empty except for bills and a flyer offering 20% off on manicures.

      1 more example

      [H]e walked across Hawthorn Tree Court on his way to the porter's lodge. […] At the lodge he cleared his pigeon-hole.

      1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 2, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section I, page 39

      Synonyms: cubbyhole

4. broadlyA compartment or cubicle in a room or other place, especially one which is (excessively) small.

   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.

   1869, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter VIII, in The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims’ Progress; […], Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company. […], →OCLC, page 80

5. broadlyA small opening for looking or passing things through.

   However, as my friend came dodging towards my door, I saw him through the usual pigeon hole through which warders speak to their prisoners.

   1962, Kenneth D[avid] Kaunda, “Prison”, in Zambia shall be Free: An Autobiography (African Writers Series; 4), London; Melbourne, Vic.: Heinemann Educational Books, →OCLC, page 127

   1. archaicbroadlynauticalAn opening in a ship for passing equipment such as an oar or rigging through.
6. alsoattributivebroadlyhistoricalin pluralA form of stocks with openings for restraining a person's hands or feet; also, one of the openings in the device.

   [D]ovvne vvith him in his Maieſties name, dovvne, dovvne vvith him, and carry him avvay, to the pigeon-holes.

   1614 November 10 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Beniamin Iohnson [i.e., Ben Jonson], Bartholmew Fayre: A Comedie, […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Robert Allot, […], published 1631, →OCLC, Act IIII, scene iv, page 61

7. broadlyobsoleteentertainmentA seat in the top row of the gallery of a theatre.

   The Play is done: For from the Pigeon-hole / I heard them hiſs the Curtain as it fell.

   1732 June 12 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [Henry Fielding], The Covent-Garden Tragedy. […], London: […] J[ohn] Watts, and sold by J. Roberts […], published 5 July 1732, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2

8. figurativelyA notional category or class into which someone or something is placed.

   The Beat writers had very different styles and disliked the invented term and pigeonhole forced upon them.

   2007 September 7, David Mills, “Do we need to keep the Beats in their box?”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Apr 2023

   1 more example

   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

   2018 May 4, Kaite Welsh, “‘Single women fiction’: how a genre went from subversive to sad”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Jul 2024

   Synonyms: box

9. archaicfigurativelymediaA space between two words that is too wide.

   1 more example

   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, […]

   1683, Joseph Moxon, “Numb[er] XIV. Applied to the Compositers Trade.”, in Mechanick Exercises: Or, The Doctrine of Handy-Works. Applied to the Art of Printing. […], volume II, London: […] Joseph Moxon […], →OCLC, § 4 (Of Composing), page 215

present singular third person pigeonholes · participle present pigeonholing · participle past pigeonholed · past pigeonholed · alternative pigeon-hole · alternative pigeon hole · alternative pigeon-hole · alternative pigeon hole

1. figurativelytransitiveTo construct pigeonholes (noun sense 1 or 3.1) in (a place); also, to subdivide (a place) into pigeonholes.

   I had proposed to pigeon-hole the walls of the drawing-room for the reception of the dictionary material.

   1879, J[ames] A[ugustus] H[enry] Murray, Address to the Philological Society; quoted in “Pigeon-hole, v.”, in James A[ugustus] H[enry] Murray [et al.], editors, A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume VII (O–P), London: Clarendon Press, 1884–1928, →OCLC, page 847, column 1

   1 more example

   That study is still in its infancy, and our theories on the subjects with which it deals must probably for a long time to come be tentative and provisional, mere pigeon-holes in which temporarily to sort the multitude of facts, not iron moulds in which to cast them for ever.

   1918, James George Frazer, Folk-Lore In The Old Testament, volume 1, page ix

2. transitiveTo put (letters, papers, or other items) into pigeonholes or small compartments; also, to arrange or sort (items) by putting into pigeonholes.

   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.

   1858 March 3 (date written), Nathaniel Hawthorne, “March 3rd, [1858]”, in Passages from the French and Italian Note-books of Nathaniel Hawthorne, volume I, London: Strahan & Co., […], published 1871, →OCLC, page 143

3. figurativelytransitiveTo arrange (items) for future reference or use.
4. figurativelytransitiveTo put aside (advice, a proposal, or other matter) for future consideration instead of acting on it immediately; to shelve.

   "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?"

   1937 July, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “Anslem Gets His Chance”, in Eggs, Beans and Crumpets, London: Herbert Jenkins […], published 26 April 1940, →OCLC, page 154

   4 more 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.

   1910, Angus Hamilton, Herbert H[enry] Austin, Masatake Terauchi, “Sanitation and Water Works”, in Korea: Its History, Its People, and Its Commerce (Oriental Series; XIII), Boston, Mass.; Tokyo: J. B. Millet Company, →OCLC, page 294

   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.

   1917 November, “The Looking Glass: Election Laws in Southern California”, in W[illiam] E[dward] Burghardt Du Bois, editor, The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races, volume 15, number 1 (number 85 overall), New York, N.Y.: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 29, column 2

   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.

   1961 February, “Talking of Trains: The White Paper”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 65

   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.

   2004, Edward Sidlow, Beth Henschen, America at Odds, 4th edition, Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, →ISBN, page 260

   Synonyms: mothball, table

5. figurativelytransitiveTo 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.

   Fred was tired of being pigeonholed as a computer geek.

   3 more examples

   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.

   1902 October, Jack London, chapter VII, in A Daughter of the Snows, Philadelphia, Pa.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC, page 74

   I'm not gonna be able, to top on My Name Is / And pigeonholed into some poppy sensation

   1998–2000 (date recorded), Marshall Mathers, “The Way I Am”, in The Marshall Mathers LP, performed by Eminem, Santa Monica, Calif.: Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records, published 23 May 2000, →OCLC

   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.

   2023 June 28, Nick Reilly, “Meet eee gee, the Singer who Refuses to Put Her Music in One Box”, in Rolling Stone, New York, N.Y.: Penske Media Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2024

   Synonyms: cubbyhole, put someone in a box