pi·geon·hole
ˈpi-jən-ˌhōl 
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
pigeonholed; pigeonholing; pigeonholes
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
Walter Mills2
: to assign to an often restrictive category : classify
Examples of pigeonhole in a Sentence
Verb
She likes to perform different types of music because she doesn't want to be pigeonholed.
Recent Examples on the WebBill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2023
Entertaining—and admittedly not too significant—statements can be derived from the pigeonhole principle.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2023
No doubt the actress has also been misunderstood, having to escape a pigeonhole that her beloved April put her in.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023
His style was always far too slippery to pigeonhole.
—Andrew Barker, Variety, 7 June 2023
In fact, Leurechon also chose the example of hairiness to introduce the pigeonhole principle.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2023
The pigeonhole principle is usually attributed to Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, who lived about 200 years after Leurechon.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2023
Now, all those necessities of travel must be poked into a narrow pigeonhole on the console, just forward of the shifter.
—Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, 26 Jan. 2023
And to his credit, Leitch escapes that pigeonhole … only to get trapped in another.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2022
Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2023
Shifting considerations Justices are not always easy to pigeonhole, either.
—John A. Tures, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2023
Wary of being sidelined, Love initially resisted being pigeonholed as a breast specialist.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2023
While students like Rayne are considering leaning more into race, other Black and Latino applicants may, like the Asian student, hide their race over concerns that admissions officers may pigeonhole or stereotype them.
—Jessica Cheung, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2023
But not wanting to be pigeonholed and hoping to expand his creative pursuits, Beyond stopped modeling in 1997.
—Elyssa Maxx Goodman, ELLE, 7 Sep. 2023
While pigeonholing has no place in their work, finishing each other’s sentences is a big part of the process.
—Erika Houle, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023
While Trump, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy eagerly take right-wing positions that are easy to pillory, Haley is much harder to pigeonhole.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 31 Aug. 2023
Like Nowitzki, Gasol was another 7-footer and wasn’t pigeonholed into a limited skillset.
—Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, 10 Aug. 2023
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Noun
Both Los Angeles and Mexico City have dining ecosystems too vast to pigeonhole; flashy glamour will always be part of them.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2023
Entertaining—and admittedly not too significant—statements can be derived from the pigeonhole principle.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2023
No doubt the actress has also been misunderstood, having to escape a pigeonhole that her beloved April put her in.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023
His style was always far too slippery to pigeonhole.
—Andrew Barker, Variety, 7 June 2023
In fact, Leurechon also chose the example of hairiness to introduce the pigeonhole principle.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2023
The pigeonhole principle is usually attributed to Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, who lived about 200 years after Leurechon.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2023
Now, all those necessities of travel must be poked into a narrow pigeonhole on the console, just forward of the shifter.
—Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, 26 Jan. 2023
And to his credit, Leitch escapes that pigeonhole … only to get trapped in another.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2022
Verb
But Francis grew tired of being pigeonholed as a feature artist and craved further ownership of her identity and ethereal sound.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2023
Shifting considerations Justices are not always easy to pigeonhole, either.
—John A. Tures, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2023
Wary of being sidelined, Love initially resisted being pigeonholed as a breast specialist.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2023
While students like Rayne are considering leaning more into race, other Black and Latino applicants may, like the Asian student, hide their race over concerns that admissions officers may pigeonhole or stereotype them.
—Jessica Cheung, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2023
But not wanting to be pigeonholed and hoping to expand his creative pursuits, Beyond stopped modeling in 1997.
—Elyssa Maxx Goodman, ELLE, 7 Sep. 2023
While pigeonholing has no place in their work, finishing each other’s sentences is a big part of the process.
—Erika Houle, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023
While Trump, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy eagerly take right-wing positions that are easy to pillory, Haley is much harder to pigeonhole.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 31 Aug. 2023
Like Nowitzki, Gasol was another 7-footer and wasn’t pigeonholed into a limited skillset.
—Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, 10 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pigeonhole.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing pigeonhole
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Cite this Entry
“Pigeonhole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pigeonhole. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
pigeonhole
1 of 2 noun
pi·geon·hole
-ˌhōl
: a small open compartment (as in a desk) for keeping letters or papers
pigeonhole
2 of 2 verb
: to place in or as if in the pigeonhole of a desk
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