madhouse

[mad-hous]

noun

plural

madhouses 

1. a hospital for the confinement and treatment of mentally disturbed persons.

2. a wild, confused, and often noisy place, set of circumstances, etc..

   The office was a madhouse today.

   Synonyms: bedlam

madhouse

/ ˈmædˌhaʊs /

noun

1. a mental hospital or asylum

2. a state of uproar or confusion

Word History and Origins

Origin of madhouse¹

First recorded in 1680–90; mad + house

Example Sentences

With the tying run at second base and none out in the ninth inning, he was the calm in a screaming madhouse.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Citizens Bank Park was a madhouse in Game 1, but the crowd for Game 2 was comparatively toned down.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Tim O’Reilly, a media writer in Chicago, says that if he didn’t come to a streaming service with a title already in mind, the search would be a madhouse.

Read more on Salon

It was a “chaotic madhouse,” per the actor, in which the kids would perform to stand out, but he was the only one to end up pursuing anything professionally.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The kitchen turns into a madhouse with cooks working and waitresses fighting to get their orders out first, all while the floor is flooded with soda.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• psychiatric hospital www.thesaurus.com