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 WebPatric Gagne, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024
Much like Chambers is indelibly linked to funk and fusion, White tends to be pigeonhole as a fusion patriarch.
—Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
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
Mark Lurie, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
The show allowed the Euphoria star, who refuses to be pigeonholed, a chance to show her range.
—Esther Zuckerman, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2024
This is not to pathologize conspiracy believers, who, in any case, are hard to pigeonhole.
—Keith Kloor, Scientific American, 9 Feb. 2024
Native actors are often pigeonholed in Westerns, a genre that does not tend to reap statues during awards season.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Mar. 2024
Then Jackson was pigeonholed as a one-read, run-first quarterback who couldn’t throw outside the numbers ... even as he was declared a unanimous league MVP while setting a record for rushing yards (1,206) at his position while nearly pacing the league in passer rating (113.3) in 2019.
—Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024
Though Asian Americans are often pigeonholed as a demographic that prioritizes education above all other issues, a new poll shows that’s not completely accurate.
—Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC News, 24 Jan. 2024
Not wanting to pigeonhole the series with Cheers tropes, the creatives decided to move Frasier to Seattle to care for his ailing father (John Mahoney), a gruff inner-city cop whose gritty reality clashes with his son's expensive tastes.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 12 Oct. 2023
Today’s homeowners don’t want to be pigeonholed into categories.
—Vicki Payne, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
Noun
Why did conventional wisdom, mainstream media, even college-level psychology courses, all pigeonhole such a significant portion of the population as irredeemable villains?
—Patric Gagne, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024
Much like Chambers is indelibly linked to funk and fusion, White tends to be pigeonhole as a fusion patriarch.
—Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
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
Verb
Decision Points Market participants need to take stablecoins seriously without pigeonholing them into just one thing.
—Mark Lurie, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
The show allowed the Euphoria star, who refuses to be pigeonholed, a chance to show her range.
—Esther Zuckerman, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2024
This is not to pathologize conspiracy believers, who, in any case, are hard to pigeonhole.
—Keith Kloor, Scientific American, 9 Feb. 2024
Native actors are often pigeonholed in Westerns, a genre that does not tend to reap statues during awards season.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Mar. 2024
Then Jackson was pigeonholed as a one-read, run-first quarterback who couldn’t throw outside the numbers ... even as he was declared a unanimous league MVP while setting a record for rushing yards (1,206) at his position while nearly pacing the league in passer rating (113.3) in 2019.
—Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024
Though Asian Americans are often pigeonholed as a demographic that prioritizes education above all other issues, a new poll shows that’s not completely accurate.
—Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC News, 24 Jan. 2024
Not wanting to pigeonhole the series with Cheers tropes, the creatives decided to move Frasier to Seattle to care for his ailing father (John Mahoney), a gruff inner-city cop whose gritty reality clashes with his son's expensive tastes.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 12 Oct. 2023
Today’s homeowners don’t want to be pigeonholed into categories.
—Vicki Payne, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Pigeonhole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pigeonhole. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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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