pigeonholes 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of pigeonhole
as in categorizes
disapproving to unfairly think of or describe (someone or something) as belonging to only a certain category She likes to perform different types of music because she doesn't want to be pigeonholed.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

pigeonholes

2 of 2

noun

plural of pigeonhole
as in cubbyholes

Related Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pigeonholes
  1. categorizes
  2. compartments
  3. classifies
  4. cubicles
  5. relegates
  6. bays
  7. separates
  8. cubes
Verb
  • The Washington Trail Association (WTA) categorizes the Enchantments as a difficult hike.
    — Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026
  • It is based on the three-month average that categorizes El Niño as weak, moderate, strong or very strong.
    — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of categorizes
Noun
  • In the cottages, the bathroom toilet compartments aren’t large enough to accommodate a wheelchair and there’s no guard rail, although the bathrooms themselves are roomy, with large walk-in showers.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Everyone on the plane was screaming, the overhead compartments opened, and the power went out.
    — Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of compartments
Verb
  • The Cook Political Report currently classifies only 22 House campaigns and only seven Senate campaigns as toss-ups, where either the Democrat or the Republican has a genuine chance of winning.
    — Julio Borquez, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Its proprietary platform, Blackbird, reads the documents submitted with an insurance application, classifies the risk and calculates a technical price.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of classifies
Noun
  • Crews went floor to floor, hitting individual cubicles, offices and even coordinating with a restaurant also housed in the building.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • One of the first popular artist hubs was the Bakehouse Art Complex, which opened in 1985, renting work space to dozens of artists who sold their creations from cubicles.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of cubicles
Verb
  • By naming the product of two mergers Skydance, David Ellison relegates two of Hollywood’s founding studios to a sub-brand stew and attempts to erase a bunch of controversial hires.
    — Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The move relegates longtime Renegades starter Luis Perez to the bench.
    — José Sánchez Córdova, Dallas Morning News, 25 Mar. 2026
Definition of relegates
Noun
  • The September 2026 surge was highest where the water was directed into shallow bays and inlets.
    — Brian Tang, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The coastal flood threat has largely ended for Atlantic and Cape May counties, although high water remains a concern in some of the back bays farther north through the morning.
    — Kate Bilo, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of bays
Verb
  • The Day-One Problem When a business unit separates from its parent, the strategy, customer relationships and distribution channels go with it.
    — Sami Nomair, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Figuring out how to plan weekly meals without a full kitchen is what separates a semester fueled by vending machine potato chips from one where your brain actually works in class.
    — Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of separates
Noun
  • Berlin’s pile number 8, or B8, was a chandelier of 664 uranium cubes arranged in concentric rings within a pool of heavy water, surrounded by a wall of graphite.
    — Mike McRae October 06, New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The diced cubes of tuna mixed with avocado arrived with a garnish of black and white sesame seeds and one chive sprig draped on top, all surrounded by a fan of wonton chips.
    — Restaurant Critic, Houston Chronicle, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of cubes
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

pigeonholed
pigeonholes
pigeonholing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pigeonholes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pigeonholes. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nexus

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Why do we call it a 'flea market'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All