cubicle

[kyoo-bi-kuh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cubicle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small space or compartment partitioned off.

carrel(def 1).

a bedroom, especially one of a number of small ones in a divided dormitory, as in English public schools.

Origin of cubicle

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin cubiculum bedroom, equivalent to cub(āre) to lie down + -i- -i- + -culum -cle²

Can be confusedcubical cubicle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cubicle

room, nook, cell, chamber, stall, booth, desk, pigeonhole, office, cubbyhole

Examples from the Web for cubicle

Contemporary Examples of cubicle

Sure, your cubicle mate, neighbor, and aunt all own a Fitbit or JawBone fitness tracker.
Nothing Says I Love You Like Data
The Daily Beast
December 8, 2014
Bronze skin and corn-colored hair have faded into cubicle complexions and cowlicks.
Dealing With Dad the Dealer
Tony Doukopil
April 9, 2014
Your cubicle mates pouring over their brackets with all of the serious intent and fevered diligence of Talmudic scholars.
It’s Time to Rip the Money Out of the NCAA
Robert Silverman
April 1, 2014
More than likely pushing buttons on a PC at a desk in a cubicle, answering phones, managing deadlines, and going to meetings.
Is Masculine Writing Dead?
Frank Bill
March 14, 2013
She seems to believe that enough employees are goofing off at home that she should bring them off the cloud and into the cubicle.
Are Yahoo and Marissa Mayer Wrong to Ban Working From Home?
The Daily Beast
February 27, 2013

Historical Examples of cubicle

The white curtain walls of the cubicle contracted, closed in on her.
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
May Sinclair
Bill Dickson strolled over from the direction of his own cubicle.
Dogfight--1973
Dallas McCord Reynolds
Then I got to my feet and wearily opened the door of my cubicle.
Dogfight--1973
Dallas McCord Reynolds
When John Storm awoke in his cubicle next morning he saw his way clearer.
The Christian
Hall Caine
You traversed these like a convict, speaking to no one, and entered your own cubicle.
Gigolo
Edna Ferber

British Dictionary definitions for cubicle

cubicle

noun

a partially or totally enclosed section of a room, as in a dormitory

an indoor construction designed to house individual cattle while allowing them free access to silage

Word Origin for cubicle

C15: from Latin cubiculum, from cubāre to lie down, lie asleep

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cubicle

mid-15c., "bedroom," from Latin cubiculum "bedroom," from cubare "to lie down," originally "bend oneself," from PIE root *keu(b)- "to bend, turn." With Latin -clom, suffix denoting place. Obsolete from 16c. but revived 19c. for "dormitory sleeping compartment," sense of "any partitioned space" (such as a library carrel or, later, office work station) is first recorded 1926.