pigeonhole

noun pi·geon·hole \ ˈpi-jən-ˌhōl \

Definition of pigeonhole

1 :a hole or small recess for pigeons to nest

2 :a small open compartment (as in a desk or cabinet) for keeping letters or documents

3 :a neat category which usually fails to reflect actual complexities

See pigeonhole defined for English-language learners

See pigeonhole defined for kids

Recent Examples of pigeonhole from the Web

Lynne grew increasingly frustrated with her Nashville pigeonhole, and was not shy about saying so in public.

— mary colurso | mcolurso@al.com, AL.com, "Alabama's Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer: 2 music roads paved with tragedy and triumph," 25 Aug. 2017
Similarly defying pigeonholes is Christopher Patton, who has optically transformed close-ups of his handwriting into a series of abstract images, made into a video loop.

— gary faigin, The Seattle Times, "Review: Diverse notions of drawing at the Whatcom Museum," 26 June 2017
The blisters that made him funnel pitches into a pigeonhole for two months are finally clearing up.

— andrew baggarly, The Mercury News, "Johnny Cueto’s future with Giants is up in the air," 3 June 2017
An NCAA title on Monday might finally show how enormous this is, how strong Gonzaga had to be to escape its pigeonhole.

— mark whicker, Orange County Register, "Whicker: Gonzaga didn’t do this overnight," 30 Mar. 2017
As pigeonholes go, this is a rather roomy one to be in.

— the washington post, The Mercury News, "Who’s the uncanny JFK look-alike in ‘Jackie’?," 8 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pigeonhole.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of pigeonhole

1577

pigeonhole

verb

Definition of pigeonhole

transitive verb

1 a :to place in or as if in the pigeonhole of a desk

b :to lay aside :shelve

his reports continued to be pigeonholed and his advice not taken
—Walter Mills

2 :to assign to an often restrictive category :classify

—

pigeonholer

play \ˈpi-jən-ˌhō-lər\ noun

See pigeonhole defined for English-language learners

Examples of pigeonhole in a Sentence

She likes to perform different types of music because she doesn't want to be pigeonholed.

Recent Examples of pigeonhole from the Web

The idea is less to pigeonhole people and more to remember that not everyone is exactly like you.

— business insider, Fortune, "There Are 4 Types of People. Here’s How to Gain Their Trust," 24 Aug. 2017
Nor, come to think of it, do most of my conservative friends — including many who have been pigeonholed as one or the other by their opposite numbers.

— andrew c. mccarthy, National Review, "McMaster and the Challenge of Sharia Supremacism," 12 Aug. 2017
My secret ambition was to break out of whatever pigeonhole that people had placed me in.

— david lyman, Cincinnati.com, "Step 1: 'Lion King.' Step 2: Coachella. Step 3: Cincy.," 28 July 2017
The Texans certainly never pigeonholed him like that.

— albert breer, SI.com, "Tom Savage or DeShaun Watson? Texans QB Situation Leads Camp Storylines to Watch," 27 July 2017
Why do people get pigeonholed as bad or good in the first place?

— danny westneat, The Seattle Times, "Last heroic act shows ‘you can’t brand someone for his past’," 7 July 2017
But as one of the first country stars to emerge in the wide-open streaming landscape, Bryan doesn't pigeonhole himself to just country, knowing his listeners don't do that either.

— milwaukee, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Best and worst of Summerfest Day 2: Luke Bryan, Berlin return to the Big Gig with style," 30 June 2017
Hillary Clinton told my graduating class at the University of Maryland in 1996 not to let our generation be pigeonholed as apathetic Generation Xers.

— david g. allan, CNN, "At the threshold of pomp and circumstance," 12 May 2017
Pumphrey, in many minds, will be pigeonholed into being a specialist in the NFL because of his size.

— bob brookover, Philly.com, "Eagles might not be as short as you think at running back | Bob Brookover," 2 May 2017

First Known Use of pigeonhole

1840

PIGEONHOLE Defined for English Language Learners

pigeonhole

noun

Definition of pigeonhole for English Language Learners

: a small open space in a desk, cabinet, or wall for keeping letters or papers
—used to say that someone or something is being unfairly thought of or described as belonging to a particular group, having only a particular skill, etc.