padded cell

American  

noun

1. a room, as in a mental hospital, with padded walls for the confinement of violent inmates.

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padded cell British  

noun

1. a room, esp one in a mental hospital, with padded surfaces in which violent inmates are placed

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Example Sentences

"Should I feel anything?" asks the beady-eyed man, sitting in a padded cell with handcuffs around his wrists.

From BBC

It is as though the series will inevitably end with the character opening her eyes and the camera slowly panning out to reveal her padded cell.

From Salon

"A calming room should be a room for children to calm down with blankets, teddies and soft lighting. Not a padded cell. You wouldn't put an animal in there."

From BBC

The visual expedition begins with the opening credits, which focus on charmingly quilted satin walls that invoke a nursery crossed with a padded cell.

From Los Angeles Times

Camp 5, where the defendants are held, has a second-floor psychiatric ward, known as a behavioral health unit, with a padded cell.

From New York Times

Related Words

• mental health institution
• psychiatric hospital
• psychiatric ward