cramped

¹

[krampt]

adjective

1. confined or severely limited in space.

   cramped closets.

2. 1. (of handwriting) with characters written small and crowded together.

   2. (of a style of writing) hard to understand; crabbed.

cramped

²

[krampt]

adjective

1. affected with a cramp in a muscle or muscles.

cramped

/ kræmpt /

adjective

1. closed in; restricted

2. (esp of handwriting) small and irregular; difficult to read

Other Word Forms

• crampedness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cramped¹

First recorded in 1670–80; cramp ² + -ed ²

Origin of cramped²

First recorded in 1670–80; cramp ¹ + -ed ³

Example Sentences

But the biggest perk of this design, according to proponents, is that it allows apartment buildings to go up on small plots of land otherwise too cramped for the modern American apartment block.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But what happens when water cannot circulate freely and becomes trapped inside these cramped spaces?

Read more on Science Daily

Hers is one of small, cramped apartments, karaoke bars, public transit, hotels, temples and schools.

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“Sometimes you can lie when you want to protect the other side or protect the player,” said James, standing in a cramped and somber visitors’ locker room.

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Though it opened well after Hemingway’s time, he would admire the bar’s seamless operation, the dishes emerging with military precision on a cramped night like this.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• crowded 
• narrow 
• packed 
• small 
• tiny