crash pad

American  

noun

1. Slang. a place to sleep or live temporarily and at no cost.

2. padding inside cars, tanks, or the like, for protecting passengers in the event of an accident, sudden stop, etc.

---

crash pad British  

noun

1. slang a place to sleep or live temporarily

---

crash pad Idioms  

1. A free, temporary lodging place, as in The company maintains several crash pads for employees from out-of-town divisions. This expression originally referred to a place affording runaways, drug addicts, and the like somewhere to crash in the sense of “sleep.” In time it also was used more broadly, as in the example. [Slang; 1960s]

---

Etymology

Origin of crash pad

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

She shared an apartment with another code breaker in a rowhouse at 1633 Q St. NW, which became a crash pad of sorts for members of the military and others without a place to sleep.

From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2022

I landed on a black 2013 Acura ILX, which was a 12-minute walk from my crash pad and cost $196 for 38 ½ hours.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 12, 2021

At their space in Brooklyn known as Rear House, Earl and the rest of Woods once ran the imprint, a studio, a practice area and a crowded crash pad for a stream of touring bands.

From New York Times • May 19, 2020

Yes, it’s still a work in progress; Biles finishes on a soft crash pad in a controlled over-rotation to minimize injury and strain.

From Slate • Feb. 25, 2020

Stan Wilson settled himself against his crash pad and got his chute squared under him.

From A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F. by Montgomery, Rutherford George