pi
geon
hole
Plural
pigeonholes
1
a small compartment or niche used for sorting or storing items
A pigeonhole is a small, open compartment or shelf, often part of a larger piece of furniture, used to store or organize items such as letters, documents, or small personal belongings. Pigeonholes are commonly found in offices, libraries, or mailrooms, where they help separate and sort items in a neat and accessible way. The compartments are typically arranged in rows or columns, allowing for easy identification and retrieval of stored items. Pigeonholes are designed to keep things organized and prevent clutter.
- The mailroom had individual pigeonholes for each employee to receive their correspondence.
- She organized her paperwork by placing them in different pigeonholes labeled with categories.
- The librarian placed the returned books in the appropriate pigeonholes to be reshelved.
- The teacher collected the students' assignments and placed them in their respective pigeonholes for grading.
- The office manager installed a wall-mounted pigeonhole organizer to sort incoming and outgoing documents.
Synonyms:
2
a specific (often simplistic) category