pigeonhole
verb [ I or T ]
uk/ˈpɪdʒənhəʊl/ us disapproving
to form a fixed and often unfair idea of what someone or something is like:
They say reviewers are pigeonholing their studies and making unfair judgements about potentially useful research.
be pigeonholed as sth We decided to drop the .com in our name because we didn't want to be pigeonholed as an internet company.
I was pigeonholed early in my career.
pigeonhole
noun [ C ]
uk/ˈpɪdʒənhəʊl/ us WORKPLACE
one of a set of small boxes along a wall in which mail, messages, etc. can be left:
She left her business card in my pigeonhole.
disapproving a particular group of similar things that people or things are put into:
put sb/sth in a pigeonhole My boss put me in a pigeonhole, so I was never considered for work in other departments.