The AI-powered English dictionary
plural pigeonholes
One of an array of compartments for housing pigeons in a pigeon loft (dovecote). examples
(by extension) One of an array of compartments for receiving mail and other messages at a college, office, etc. examples
One of an array of compartments for storing scrolls at a library. examples
A similar compartment in a desk, used for sorting and storing papers. examples
(figurative) A category. quotations examples
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 The Guardian
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 The Guardian
third-person singular simple present pigeonholes, present participle pigeonholing, simple past and past participle pigeonholed
To categorize; especially to limit or be limited to a particular category, role, etc. quotations 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.
1902 October, Jack London, A Daughter of the Snows, Philadelphia, Pa.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company
I'm not gonna be able, to top on My Name Is / And pigeonholed into some poppy sensation
2000, Eminem (lyrics and music), “The Way I Am”
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 UK
To put aside, to not act on (proposals, suggestions, advice). quotations examples
These laws were not carried into effect: they were pigeon-holed.
1910, Angus Hamilton, Herbert Henry Austin, Masatake Terauchi, Korea: Its History, Its People, and Its Commerce, page 294
[…] vociferously declared that they had the evidence. But no one prosecutes. No one swears out a warrant. The evidence is pigeonholed.
1917, “The Looking Glass: Election laws in Southern California”, in The Crisis, number 11, page 29
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.
2008, Edward Sidlow, Beth Henschen, America at Odds, page 251