cubicle

[ kyoo-bi-kuhl ]

noun

1. a small space or compartment partitioned off.
2. carrel ( def 1 ).
3. a bedroom, especially one of a number of small ones in a divided dormitory, as in English public schools.

cubicle

/ ˈkjuːbɪkəl /

noun

1. a partially or totally enclosed section of a room, as in a dormitory
2. an indoor construction designed to house individual cattle while allowing them free access to silage

Word History and Origins

Origin of cubicle¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin cubiculum bedroom, equivalent to cub ( āre ) to lie down + -i- -i- + -culum -cle ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of cubicle¹

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

Example Sentences

Amazon officials said the structure is intended to be an alternative workspace, not a traditional office building, where employees would be able to air out ideas and find downtime beyond their cubicles.

From Washington Post

He was living in a dorm of 100 men, with tables in one corner for meals and toilet cubicles without doors in another.

From Washington Post

“The office becomes a place to meet,” said Krishna, “Not a cubicle where you do routine work.”

From Fortune

So, I’m working on selling a product or a spreadsheet and I hear the person in the cubicle right next to me talking about basically the same thing.

From Freakonomics

They operated out of the third floor of the Marquardt state office building, its rows of government-issued cubicles empty.

From ProPublica

Sure, your cubicle mate, neighbor, and aunt all own a Fitbit or JawBone fitness tracker.

From The Daily Beast

By “the Internet,” they meant the people within a seven-cubicle radius of the person who wrote that blog post.

From The Daily Beast

Bronze skin and corn-colored hair have faded into cubicle complexions and cowlicks.

From The Daily Beast

Your cubicle mates pouring over their brackets with all of the serious intent and fevered diligence of Talmudic scholars.

From The Daily Beast

More than likely pushing buttons on a PC at a desk in a cubicle, answering phones, managing deadlines, and going to meetings.

From The Daily Beast

Then a fat, untidy old man appeared in the doorway of a cubicle within the shop, and Edwin Clayhanger blushed.

From Project Gutenberg

He dove into their tiny cubicle, a boxlike contrivance between decks, to secure rifles and cartridges.

From Project Gutenberg

Holding up his trousers with both hands, Bart stepped inside the indicated cubicle.

From Project Gutenberg

He stepped through into a small cubicle, and the door slid shut like a closing trap.

From Project Gutenberg

He whirled in panic, then subsided in foolish relief as the cubicle began to rise—it was just an automatic elevator.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• booth
• cell
• chamber
• desk
• nook
• room
• stall