Definition of "pigeonhole" [pi•geon•hole]

• A small compartment or recess, as in a desk, for holding papers; a cubbyhole. (noun)
• A specific, often oversimplified category. (noun)
• The small hole or holes in a pigeon loft for nesting. (noun)
• To place or file in a small compartment or recess. (verb-transitive)
• To classify mentally; categorize. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Because I can't really separate the new from the old, the easiest way to clean out a label (what I call a pigeonhole) is to actually have enough time to deal with everything and empty it out."
• "With "You Are Where You Live," now you can discover what your pigeonhole is called -- just enter your ZIP code and the service will cough up your most likely demographic info (I'm either a Successful Single, a Mover And Shaker, a Mid-Life Success, a Great Beginning or an Urban Up And Comer)."
• "So when they came to label the pigeonhole in the mailroom where letters are placed for the newest member of the Obama family, they settled on the word "Dog"."