What does perforation mean?
A perforation is a hole or opening made by piercing, punching, or drilling a material. It often appears as part of a regular series, such as the small holes along a sheet of stamps or the openings along the edge of film. The word can also refer more broadly to the process of making these holes. In medicine, “eardrum perforation” describes a tear or opening in the eardrum. In everyday descriptions, people may say that a package has a perforation when it includes a dotted or perforated line designed to be torn. The term is useful because it distinguishes a deliberately made opening from an accidental crack or tear and highlights both the opening itself and the patterned process through which it was produced.
nounA hole or opening made by piercing or punching a material, especially one forming part of a regular pattern. The term can also refer to the process or technique of making such openings.
- A hole or opening made by piercing or punching a material, especially as part of a regular series.
- The act or process of making holes or openings by piercing, punching, or drilling.
- A small opening in a surface, such as a film strip, sheet, or piece of equipment.
"The sheet is sold with a perforation so that it can be torn cleanly along the dotted line."
"Carefully cut along the perforation to separate the label from the sheet."
"A perforation in the film allowed the projector to advance frame by frame."
Plural perforations refers to multiple holes or openings, or to a pattern containing several such holes.
"The technician inspected the perforations in the film for damage."
A perforation can be a single opening, but it can also describe an entire pattern of holes designed to make a sheet tear or separate cleanly.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of perforation
The word derives from Latin perforare, meaning “to pierce through” or “bore through,” formed from the prefix per-, meaning “through,” and forare, meaning “to bore.” The English noun developed from the Latin family of forms associated with perforating or making openings. Related English words include perforate, perforator, and perforable, all of which preserve the idea of piercing through or producing holes.
Related word forms
How perforation is actually used
The word is common in technical and manufacturing contexts. In everyday use, it usually refers to a small hole or a line of holes made so that material can be separated easily.
Easily confused with perforation
Perforation is the hole or opening itself, or the process of making it, whereas perforated is the adjective describing something that has such holes.