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.
“Backrooms,” the No. 1 movie in the country currently, is a horror movie that takes place in a seemingly endless liminal space that articulates itself as generic strip mall or office spaces.
From Salon • Jun. 8, 2026
This is what’s known as a liminal space.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
As business publication Fast Company noted, Backrooms is among several recent liminal space titles "shaped by Gen Z's most traumatic formative years".
From BBC • May 29, 2026
Since I’d been finding myself in various Chinatowns both as a liminal space and a state of mind, I told them I’d claim it, even though it was just as mysterious to me.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026
In the liminal space after combat, Mr. Hertling played volleyball with Iraqi deserters.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
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.
