Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pinhole

/ˈpɪnˌhoʊl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.49 in modern English

Syllables: pin-hole
IPA: /ˈpɪnˌhoʊl/

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A small hole, of a size that could have been made by a pin

noun

The aperture in a pinhole camera or camera obscura

noun

A port left unprotected by a firewall to allow a particular application to gain access to a service.

noun

A clipping of pinhole eye, which refers to the compact eye structure associated with intense tropical cyclones.

verb

To form one or more pinholes in.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"These [the eyes of the nautilus] are the simplest eyes of any large living animal -- lensless 'pinholes' that project a hazy and rather dim image onto its retinas."

Etymology

From pin + hole.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpɪnˌhoʊl/

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

pinholes (plural) pin-hole (alternative) pinholes (present, singular) pinholing (participle, present) pinholed (participle, past) pinholed (past)

Phrases

pinhole camera pinhole chert pinhole detector pinhole glasses pinhole grass pinhole pupil

Questions

How do you pronounce pinhole?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɪnˌhoʊl/.
What does pinhole mean?: A small hole, of a size that could have been made by a pin
Where does pinhole come from?: From pin + hole.

How to pronounce pinhole

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pinhole”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɪnˌhoʊl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pinhole”.
Repeat and practice — Say “pinhole” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.