cubicle

American  

[kyoo-bi-kuhl] / ˈkju bɪ kəl /

noun

• cubicles
  plural

1. a small space or compartment partitioned off.

2. carrel.

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

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cubicle British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cubicles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cubicle

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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cubicle cubicles

Maybe this is why I have long treated “Ask a Manager” as both advice column and anthropological expedition behind the cubicle wall, where completely ordinary behaviors can become freighted with professional meaning.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Hunter knows that the title might seem “absurdly grand” for a play in which two single dads sit around a cubicle talking at length about loan paperwork and interest rates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

He designed a keyboard shortcut to instantly display a spreadsheet if the boss walked by your cubicle while you were playing a computer game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

"He was in a cubicle, he could have been looking at any child, not just mine. I can't get it out my head."

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

It was supposed to remind cubicle workers to stand and stretch every hour, but it sounded like an ergonomic torture device.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

Even if cubicles were slightly more expensive to maintain or consumed more water, this would not necessarily be enough to justify a price difference compared with urinals, she added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Patients with more severe illness are in their own cubicles and only medical teams in full protective equipment are allowed in.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

The rise of artificial intelligence has quickly sparked worries of job losses in America’s office cubicles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026

Stasevska, 41, walks from the ornate foyer of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, with its emerald green carpets and gleaming chandeliers, to the more ordinary hallways and cubicles of L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026

Over the years, Dallas and Florida had been squeezed toward the back of the Boxton Creek Home until they’d come to the end of it, where two cubicles huddled side by side.

From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech

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Related Words

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