cubicle
Americannoun
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a small space or compartment partitioned off.
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a bedroom, especially one of a number of small ones in a divided dormitory, as in English public schools.
noun
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a partially or totally enclosed section of a room, as in a dormitory
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an indoor construction designed to house individual cattle while allowing them free access to silage
Etymology
Origin of cubicle
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin cubiculum bedroom, equivalent to cub ( āre ) to lie down + -i- -i- + -culum -cle 2
Explanation
A cubicle is a small space partitioned off within a larger space for a particular purpose — usually reading or studying. Or just surfing the Internet. Cubicle comes from the Latin term for a monk's bedroom, cubiculum, which itself is from the word cubare, "to lie down." Back then a monk would probably share it with an illuminated manuscript and a Bible; nowadays the average worker drone has a computer and a bunch of Post-it notes. Still great for sleeping in, though, as long as you don't get caught.
Vocabulary lists containing cubicle
Boy: Tales of Childhood
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Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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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.
I opened it and found myself reading a familiar passage about the protagonist Winston Smith’s cubicle and the slot in the wall nicknamed the “memory hole.”
From Salon • May 31, 2026
Lau's cubicle is one of nine in a single unit, separated by thin wooden dividers, in a 60-year-old building in one of Hong Kong's poorest neighbourhoods, Sham Shui Po.
From Barron's • May 28, 2026
Instead of clocking into a cubicle for a traditional 9-to-5 and buttoning corporate uniforms each morning, some new grads are spinning records from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. or writing Substack newsletters from cafes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
"Any time we've went before, there's never been an issue. It's always been great," she said, adding that Albie loves "the lights" and the ringside cubicle allows him to "be up close and see everything".
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
Olanna wanted to say something to her but she could not find the words, so she patted Amala’s shoulder and left the cubicle.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
