cubicle

[ kyoo-bi-kuhl ]

noun

1. a small space or compartment partitioned off.
2. carrel ( def 1 ).
3. a bedroom, especially one of a number of small ones in a divided dormitory, as in English public schools.

cubicle

/ ˈkjuːbɪkəl /

noun

1. a partially or totally enclosed section of a room, as in a dormitory
2. an indoor construction designed to house individual cattle while allowing them free access to silage

Word History and Origins

Origin of cubicle¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin cubiculum bedroom, equivalent to cub ( āre ) to lie down + -i- -i- + -culum -cle ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of cubicle¹

C15: from Latin cubiculum, from cubāre to lie down, lie asleep

Example Sentences

“It just feels like I’m walking into a cubicle with a Dell computer that I don’t know how to work,” she says with a laugh.

From Los Angeles Times

Once a supervisee enters a cubicle, the door locks behind him.

From BBC

"He has to sit on a stool for eight hours in a cubicle," his mother told the Associated Press news agency last year.

From BBC

The incident went viral on the Chinese internet after one of the two women, Gou Tingting, posted a video of herself carrying the girl inside the cubicle.

From BBC

“There was a loud boom, and then the interview cubicles started to rattle very, very heavily, and, honestly it felt like they might collapse,” the attorney said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• booth
• cell
• chamber
• desk
• nook
• room
• stall