cabin

[kab-in]

noun

1. a small house or cottage, usually of simple design and construction.

   He was born in a cabin built of rough logs.

   Synonyms: cottage, shack, shanty, cot

2. an enclosed space for more or less temporary occupancy, as the living quarters in a trailer or the passenger space in a cable car.

3. the enclosed space for the pilot, cargo, or especially passengers in an air or space vehicle.

4. an apartment or room in a ship, as for passengers.

5. cabin class.

6. (in a naval vessel) living accommodations for officers.

   Synonyms: compartment

adverb

1. in cabin-class accommodations or by cabin-class conveyance.

   to travel cabin.

verb (used without object)

1. to live in a cabin.

   They cabin in the woods on holidays.

verb (used with object)

1. to confine; enclose tightly; cramp.

cabin

/ ˈkæbɪn /

noun

1. a small simple dwelling; hut

2. a simple house providing accommodation for travellers or holiday-makers at a motel or holiday camp

3. a room used as an office or living quarters in a ship

4. a covered compartment used for shelter or living quarters in a small boat

5. (in a warship) the compartment or room reserved for the commanding officer

6. another name for signal box

7. 1. the enclosed part of a light aircraft in which the pilot and passengers sit

   2. the part of an airliner in which the passengers are carried

   3. the section of an aircraft used for cargo

verb

1. to confine in a small space

Other Word Forms

• uncabined adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cabin¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English cabane, from Middle French, from Old Provençal cabana, from Late Latin capanna, of uncertain, perhaps pre-Latin origin; spelling with “i” perhaps by influence of French cabine ( cabinet )

Word History and Origins

Origin of cabin¹

C14: from Old French cabane, from Old Provençal cabana, from Late Latin capanna hut

Example Sentences

The scene’s dramatic payoff wasn’t originally scripted and almost didn’t happen, as the cabin set had to be redesigned so one side could be removed.

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His log cabin home is now in Soviet territory.

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I’m in a room that looks like the inside of a cabin, complete with string lights, massive barrels, and OutKast posters.

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“I look like a runaway cabin boy,” she thought.

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Pudge had been a cabin boy in his youth and, coincidentally, had served on a ship captained by the famed Admiral Percival Racine Ashton himself.

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Related Words

• box 
• camp 
• chalet 
• compartment 
• cottage 
• home 
• hut 
• lodge 
• room 
• shack 
• shanty 
• shed 
• shelter