pigeonhole

noun pi·geon·hole \ ˈpi-jən-ˌhōl \

Updated on: 28 Feb 2018

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

Taking their name from a childhood board game, Hüsker Dü evaded pigeonholes while outshining most of their punk brethren.

— jason heller, The Atlantic, "Remembering Hüsker Dü's Grant Hart," 9 Oct. 2017
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
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
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

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

Founded nine years ago by Beppe Grillo, a comedian, the movement is impossible to pigeonhole.

— The Economist, "This time, Italy’s Five Star Movement wants power," 15 Feb. 2018
But Pino was careful to point out that the X2 suite of technologies should not be pigeonholed into the AAS program.

— rob goodier, Popular Mechanics, "Sikorsky's Superfast Helicopter To Be Readied for Military Use," 20 Oct. 2010
This news will create fresh momentum for Congress to take up bipartisan bills to protect Mueller, even if GOP leadership continues to pigeonhole them.

— james hohmann, courant.com, "The Daily 202: Five Takeaways From Trump’s Thwarted Effort To Fire Mueller," 26 Jan. 2018
People in our business sometimes get pigeonholed as just sports people.

— mike anthony, courant.com, "Mike Francesa's 30-Year WFAN Career Ends Friday," 15 Dec. 2017
Flöge’s contributions were seen as more niche, which pigeonholed her to a specific epoch of Austrian history.

— anna furman, Harper's BAZAAR, "Before Coco Chanel There Was Emilie Flöge: A Designer the Fashion Industry Forgot," 19 Sep. 2017
Just as there is not one way for a Swede to look, Busck resists her work being pigeonholed because of where it is produced; H.O.L. is an alluring amalgam of sources and inspirations.

— Vogue, "Can Fashion Be Responsible? Hi on Life, a Swedish-Ghanian Brand, Thinks So," 25 Sep. 2017
Those are broad strokes, of course, and no doubt there are fans who would squirm at being politically pigeonholed.

— brian mccollum, Detroit Free Press, "20 years in, Kid Rock, Eminem and ICP are politically relevant — and culturally divided," 16 Sep. 2017
Conductors are even specializing in this type of production, although many shy away from it out of fear of feeling pigeonholed into such a time-consuming, mechanical process, said Lesley Sabol, director of popular programming.

— lawrence elizabeth knox, Houston Chronicle, "Houston Symphony provides a more sinister 'Psycho'," 25 Oct. 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.