dictionary definitions for "perforate"


From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Perforate \Per"fo*rate\ (p[~e]r"f[-o]*r[asl]t), Perforated
  \Per"fo*ra`ted\ (p[~e]r"f[-o]*r[=a]"t[e^]d), a.
     Pierced with a hole or holes, or with pores; having
     transparent dots resembling holes.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Perforate \Per"fo*rate\ (p[~e]r"f[-o]*r[=a]t), v. t. [imp. & p.
     p. Perforated (p[~e]r"f[-o]*r[=a]`t[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n.
     Perforating.] [L. perforatus, p. p. of perforare to
     perforate; per through + forare to bore. See Bore, v.]
     To bore through; to pierce through with a pointed instrument;
     to make a hole or holes through by boring or piercing; to
     pierce or penetrate the surface of. --Bacon.
     [1913 Webster] Perforate

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pervious \Per"vi*ous\, a. [L. pervis; per + via a way. See
     Per-, and Voyage.]
     1. Admitting passage; capable of being penetrated by another
        body or substance; permeable; as, a pervious soil.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              [Doors] . . . pervious to winds, and open every way.
                                                    --Pope.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Capable of being penetrated, or seen through, by physical
        or mental vision. [R.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              God, whose secrets are pervious to no eye. --Jer.
                                                    Taylor.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Capable of penetrating or pervading. [Obs.] --Prior.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Zool.) Open; -- used synonymously with perforate, as
        applied to the nostrils or birds.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:

  perforate
      adj 1: having a hole cut through; "pierced ears"; "a perforated
             eardrum"; "a punctured balloon" [syn: pierced,
             perforated, perforate, punctured]
      v 1: make a hole into or between, as for ease of separation;
           "perforate the sheets of paper" [syn: punch, perforate]
      2: pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance; "The
         bullet penetrated her chest" [syn: penetrate, perforate]


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