[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/pigeonhole/)

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# pigeonhole

noun (a pigeonhole, pigeonholes); verb (pigeonhole, pigeonholes, pigeonholed, pigeonholing)

«pigeonhole» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. noun: One of a set of small open boxes in a wall or desk where letters and papers are put for each person. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pigeonhole/#m1)
2. verb: To decide too quickly that someone or something belongs to one simple type, unfairly: "Don't pigeonhole people." [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pigeonhole/#m2)
3. verb: To put something aside and ignore it (old use). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pigeonhole/#m3)

### In the lessons

In schools and offices, teachers have pigeonholes in the staff room for letters. In discussions about fairness, pigeonholing people means putting them in a box, like "girls are bad at maths", which is unfair. Similar: label, stereotype.

### Examples

- Leave the note in Mr Jones's pigeonhole. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pigeonhole/#x1)
- Each teacher has a pigeonhole in the staff room. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pigeonhole/#x2)
- Don't pigeonhole him as just a footballer; he loves poetry too. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pigeonhole/#x3)
- She hated being pigeonholed as the shy one. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pigeonhole/#x4)
- The letters were sorted into pigeonholes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pigeonhole/#x5)
- Pigeons once lived in holes like these in dovecotes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pigeonhole/#x6)

### Note

One word (sometimes "pigeon-hole"). Regular verb. Spelling: pigeon has "eo" (pi-geon).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «pigeonhole» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pigeonhole/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«pigeonhole» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/pigeonhole.html) on Mova free.