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.
“Without a comprehensive transit system, we could have empty stadiums and cramped roadways,” Bass said at a meeting of the Metro board last week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Some 7-10 workers squeeze into tiny rooms, sleeping and cooking in the same cramped space while paying little more than five dollars a month each.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
The facility did not provide them with sufficient living space, "creating cramped conditions for detainees who spent most of their time in their housing units", according to the report.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
But unlike Rome and Florence, many of its major attractions are nearly crowd-free, and smartphones will help you to find your way into and out of even the most cramped caruggi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
There were dozens of other dogs yapping and barking and anxiously pacing around in their cramped cages.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
