liminal space
Americannoun
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a state or place characterized by being transitional or intermediate in some way: In the film, Venice is a liminal space where the real and imaginary meet.
Motels are such liminal spaces—everyone there is either coming or going.
In the film, Venice is a liminal space where the real and imaginary meet.
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Informal. any location that is unsettling, uncanny, or dreamlike.
The classroom when school is out for the summer is a liminal space.
Etymology
Origin of liminal space
First recorded in 1970–75
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.
That liminal space for me is just perfect for writing.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026
As I see glimpses of Low’s home before and after the fires, I again feel as if I’m standing in a liminal space, a remembrance but also a reminder.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026
The posts themselves exist in a liminal space between life and death.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
All three sisters found themselves single, and the music inhabits that strange liminal space where you're relieved to be free, but not quite ready to move on.
From BBC • Dec. 13, 2025
I think that’s exactly why foods in that liminal space between sweet and savory have always felt like home to me — they were the closest thing I had to dessert on an ordinary day.
From Salon • Apr. 16, 2025
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.
