What does "cubbyhole" mean?

A small, snug room which may be used as a place of privacy and safety by children

What is a synonym for "cubbyhole"?

Common synonyms include: pigeonhole, alcove, asylum, bay, bolt hole, bolt-hole.

//ˈkʌbiˌhoʊl// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Noun

1
A small, snug room which may be used as a place of privacy and safety by children
2
a small secluded room wordnet
3
A small compartment; a pigeonhole
4
a small compartment wordnet
5
A glove compartment

Verb

1
To restrict, limit or narrowly define; to pigeonhole.
"Rivera: The world has changed. It is no longer cubbyholed. I do not think — Friendly: What do you mean cubbyholed? Rivera: I do not think the definition of journalist is as narrowly construed these days as perhaps it was once."

""Have you got an extension lead?" "Yeah, in the cubbyhole, but I need it for hoovering.""

From cubby + hole.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.