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

See Examples For:

crash pad

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

In a mostly quiet neighborhood of older homes and small apartment buildings, some residents have drawn their own no-go zones around what might sound like a crash pad for traveling backpackers: hostels.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2024

Mauri moved into a cheap crash pad in Santa Monica, California, called Muscle House by the Sea.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2023

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

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