liminal space

American  

[lim-uh-nl speys] / ˈlɪm ə nl ˈspeɪs /

noun

1. 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.

2. 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

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

It can feel like a liminal space, but the work of a critic never stops, and a stroll through Chelsea offers views, laudable and not, of how galleries navigate this transitional period.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 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

The title is derived from the Buddhist term “bodhi,” or a state of enlightenment; for Judeline, “Bodhiria” is the liminal space that her alter ego, “Angela,” occupies between God and her lover.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2025