rubberneck

[ruhb-er-nek]

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

/ ˈrʌbəˌnɛk /

noun

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

2. a sightseer or tourist

verb

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of rubberneck¹

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

Example Sentences

It’s angering, and rightfully so, but watching three young children grapple with the realization that their mother is gone backs “The Perfect Neighbor” right up to the line of rubbernecking sensationalism.

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If football fans can rubberneck at a player injured on the field, so can moviegoers who are looking for little other than old ideas with a stylish new spin.

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Like the show it criticizes, it is an exercise in rubbernecking, capitalizing on the contestants’ anguish and suffering instead of offering healthy media analysis in hindsight as medicine.

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To celebrate the colorful little decals that keep Angelenos rubbernecking on the road, we asked locals and visitors to share their favorite bumper stickers.

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One could read this strange, extraneous sight as Perkins’ attempt to send up our macabre fixation with death, rubbernecking at gruesome sights we should want to turn away from.

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