cramped
1 Americanadjective
adjective
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confined or severely limited in space.
cramped closets.
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(of handwriting) with characters written small and crowded together.
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(of a style of writing) hard to understand; crabbed.
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adjective
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closed in; restricted
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(esp of handwriting) small and irregular; difficult to read
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cramped1
First recorded in 1670–80; cramp 1 + -ed 3
Origin of cramped2
Explanation
A place that's cramped is uncomfortably small or crowded, like a cramped elevator with one too many riders or a cramped subway car at rush hour. This adjective comes from the verb cramp, "to restrict." When you're in a cramped situation, your movement is restricted in some way, often because there are too many people standing too close together, or simply because the space is too small. You might have a bedroom all to yourself, but if it's the size of a closet, you'll still feel cramped in there.
Vocabulary lists containing cramped
Lesson 11
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Words to Describe Places
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Arsenal, meanwhile, will likely seek squad depth to help them cope more easily with a cramped fixture schedule next season.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
The livestreamed trial kicked off April 8 in a cramped second-story courtroom in Burbank.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
The report said observers witnessed prisoners voting in cramped quarters that didn’t allow for privacy and having to hand their ballots to others to put in the box.
From Salon • May 6, 2026
Living in cramped, windowless containers and only able to leave for serious medical emergencies, she said inhabitants "felt helpless" during the Iranian attacks.
From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026
I felt stiff and tired and cramped into a too-small body with a too-small name.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
