pigeonhole

noun

1. One of an array of open compartments for housing pigeons in a dovecote or pigeon loft.

   “Holonyms: pigeon loft, dovecote, columbary, columbarium”

2. (archaic)A hole or opening in a door or wall for a pigeon to pass through.

   “The loft was lighted by a semicircular hole, though which the pigeons crept to their lodgings in the same high quarters of the premises; […] 'Dear Clym, I wonder how your face looks now?' she said, gazing abstractedly at the pigeon-hole, which admitted the sunlight so directly upon her brown hair and transparent tissues that it almost seemed to shine through her.”

3. (broadly)One of an array of open compartments in a desk, set of shelves, etc., used for sorting or storing letters, papers, or other items.

   “Abbé [Emmanuel Joseph] Sieyès has vvhole neſts of pigeon-holes full of conſtitutions ready made, ticketed, ſorted, and numbered; ſuited to every ſeaſon and every fancy; […]”

   “Blank ink and red ink, pounce, wafers, wax, pens, seals, imbibing-paper, rulers, files, were all there; pegs for hats, shelves and hooks, pigeon-holes full of samples of sugar, of rice, tobacco, coffee, and the like: all the dull paraphernalia of a trader's elaboratory.”

   “This has been fitted with blocks of pigeon-holes, 1029 in number, for the reception of the alphabetically arranged slips.”

4. (broadly)One of an array of open compartments in a desk, set of shelves, etc., used for sorting or storing letters, papers, or other items.

   “Fred was disappointed to find his pigeonhole empty except for bills and a flyer offering 20% off on manicures.”

   “[H]e walked across Hawthorn Tree Court on his way to the porter's lodge. […] At the lodge he cleared his pigeon-hole.”

5. (broadly)A compartment or cubicle in a room or other place, especially one which is (excessively) small.

   “The general size of a store in Tangier is about that of an ordinary shower-bath in a civilized land. […] You can rent a whole block of these pigeon-holes for fifty dollars a month.”

6. (broadly)A small opening for looking or passing things through.

   “However, as my friend came dodging towards my door, I saw him through the usual pigeon hole through which warders speak to their prisoners.”

7. (archaic, broadly)A small opening for looking or passing things through.
8. (also, attributive, broadly, historical, in-plural)A form of stocks with openings for restraining a person's hands or feet; also, one of the openings in the device.

   “[D]ovvne vvith him in his Maieſties name, dovvne, dovvne vvith him, and carry him avvay, to the pigeon-holes.”

9. (broadly, obsolete)A seat in the top row of the gallery of a theatre.

   “The Play is done: For from the Pigeon-hole / I heard them hiſs the Curtain as it fell.”

10. (figuratively)A notional category or class into which someone or something is placed.

    “The Beat writers had very different styles and disliked the invented term and pigeonhole forced upon them.”

    “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”

11. (archaic, figuratively)A space between two words that is too wide.

    “Theſe vvide VVhites are by Compoſiters (in vvay of Scandal) call'd Pidgeon-holes, and are by none accounted good VVorkmanſhip, unleſs in ſuch caſes of neceſſity, as aforeſaid. […] And if he [a compositor] Sets too VVide, and he chance to Set a VVord to tvvo tvvice over, he may be forc'd to make Pidgeon-holes e're he come to a Break, […]”

verb

1. (transitive)To construct pigeonholes (noun sense 1 or 3.1) in (a place); also, to subdivide (a place) into pigeonholes.

   “I had proposed to pigeon-hole the walls of the drawing-room for the reception of the dictionary material.”

2. (transitive)To put (letters, papers, or other items) into pigeonholes or small compartments; also, to arrange or sort (items) by putting into pigeonholes.

   “I would rather have my ashes scattered over the soil, to help the growth of the grass and daisies; but still I should not murmur much at having them decently pigeon-holed in a Roman tomb.”

3. (figuratively, transitive)To arrange (items) for future reference or use.
4. (figuratively, transitive)To put aside (advice, a proposal, or other matter) for future consideration instead of acting on it immediately; to shelve.

   “[S]everal laws and regulations were enacted for the prevention of cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, and diphtheria. These laws were not carried into effect: they were pigeon-holed.”

   “This year, and in former years, politicians have set up that they were cheated, and have vociferously declared that they had the evidence. But no one prosecutes. No one swears out a warrant. The evidence is pigeonholed.”

   “"Putting the prophet Hosea to one side for the moment and temporarily pigeon-holing the children of Adullam," interrupted Myrtle, "what are we going to do about this?"”

   “The Select Committee's recommendation that those which the railways are required to provide on grounds of national interest or social needs should be subsidised by the state has obviously been pigeon-holed.”

   “A committee chairperson will typically send the bill on to a subcommittee. […] 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.”

5. (figuratively, transitive)To place (someone or something) into a notional category or class, especially in a way which makes unjustified assumptions or which is restrictive; to categorize, to classify, to label.

   “Fred was tired of being pigeonholed as a computer geek.”

   “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. He refused to classify her at all. He did not dare.”

   “I'm not gonna be able, to top on My Name Is / And pigeonholed into some poppy sensation”

   “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.”