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rubberneck

American  
[ruhb-er-nek] / ˈrʌb ərˌnɛk /

verb (used without object)

  1. to look about or stare with great curiosity, as by craning the neck or turning the head.

verb (used with object)

  1. to gawk at.

    The tieup was due to drivers rubbernecking an accident.

noun

  1. a sightseer; tourist.

  2. an extremely curious person.

rubberneck British  
/ ˈrʌbəˌnɛk /

noun

  1. a person who stares or gapes inquisitively, esp in a naive or foolish manner

  2. a sightseer or tourist

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (intr) to stare in a naive or foolish manner

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of rubberneck

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; rubber 1 + neck

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.