crash pad

American  

noun

1. Slang. a place to sleep or live temporarily and at no cost.

2. padding inside cars, tanks, or the like, for protecting passengers in the event of an accident, sudden stop, etc.

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crash pad British  

noun

1. slang a place to sleep or live temporarily

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crash pad Idioms  

1. A free, temporary lodging place, as in The company maintains several crash pads for employees from out-of-town divisions. This expression originally referred to a place affording runaways, drug addicts, and the like somewhere to crash in the sense of “sleep.” In time it also was used more broadly, as in the example. [Slang; 1960s]

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Etymology

Origin of crash pad

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Living in separate homes, acting as if your house is a teenage crash pad and refusing to make any changes to his habits treats you like girlfriend/boyfriend rather than husband/wife.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 6, 2026

She shared an apartment with another code breaker in a rowhouse at 1633 Q St. NW, which became a crash pad of sorts for members of the military and others without a place to sleep.

From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2022

I landed on a black 2013 Acura ILX, which was a 12-minute walk from my crash pad and cost $196 for 38 ½ hours.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 12, 2021

Yes, it’s still a work in progress; Biles finishes on a soft crash pad in a controlled over-rotation to minimize injury and strain.

From Slate • Feb. 25, 2020

Stan Wilson settled himself against his crash pad and got his chute squared under him.

From A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F. by Montgomery, Rutherford George