Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

pigeonhole

UK /ˈpɪdʒ(ɪ)nhəʊl/ · US /ˈpɪdʒənˌ(h)oʊl/ noun, verb

Forms pigeonholes pigeonholing pigeonholed pigeon-hole pigeon hole

  1. noun One of an array of open compartments for housing pigeons in a dovecote or pigeon loft.
  2. noun (archaic) A hole or opening in a door or wall for a pigeon to pass through.
  3. noun One of an array of open compartments in a desk, set of shelves, etc., used for sorting or storing letters, papers, or other items.
  4. noun One of an array of open compartments for receiving mail and other messages at a college, office, etc. “Fred was disappointed to find his pigeonhole empty except for bills and a flyer offering 20% off on manicures.”
  5. noun A compartment or cubicle in a room or other place, especially one which is (excessively) small.
  6. noun A small opening for looking or passing things through.
  7. noun (nautical, archaic) An opening in a ship for passing equipment such as an oar or rigging through.
  8. noun (historical, chiefly in the plural, also attributive) A form of stocks with openings for restraining a person's hands or feet; also, one of the openings in the device.
  9. verb To construct pigeonholes (noun sense 1 or 3.1) in (a place); also, to subdivide (a place) into pigeonholes.
  10. verb To put (letters, papers, or other items) into pigeonholes or small compartments; also, to arrange or sort (items) by putting into pigeonholes.
  11. verb To arrange (items) for future reference or use.
  12. verb To put aside (advice, a proposal, or other matter) for future consideration instead of acting on it immediately; to shelve.
  13. verb 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.”

Synonyms

cubbyhole box mothball table put someone in a box stereotype stamp

Etymology

The noun is derived from pigeon + hole. The verb is derived from the noun.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun A small compartment in a desk or case for the keeping of letters, documents, etc.; --so called from the resemblance of a row of them to the compartments in a dovecote. Burke.
  2. verb To place in the pigeonhole of a case or cabinet; hence, to put away; to lay aside indefinitely; as, to pigeonhole a letter or a report.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pigeonhole”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details