panopticon
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of panopticon
1760–70; pan- + Greek optikón sight, seeing (neuter of optikós; see optic)
Explanation
If your school is designed as a panopticon, it means that if you stand in the middle of the building, you can see every single classroom. Use the noun panopticon to talk about a circular building — especially a prison with cells distributed around a central surveillance station. Eighteenth century philosopher Jeremy Bentham dreamed up the idea and was kind enough to bequeath us the word as well, from the Greek pan, or "all," and optikon, "of or for sight."
Vocabulary lists containing panopticon
Common Senses: Op, Ops, Opt ("Sight")
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For National Pancake Day, Words With the Greek Roots "Pan-"
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A Very Large Expanse of Sea
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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.
How about if the panopticon had Uber Eats and a never-ending feed?
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
It was built in 1877 in the form of a panopticon, giving a central guardhouse a clear view to all corners of the "wheel".
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2023
Taking the second verse of “Pass the Plugs,” Jolicoeur bemoans the industry panopticon of radio programmers, promoters and a record label that wanted more hit singles.
From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
The apartment’s glass windows become a prison panopticon, their visibility stripping the safety from Julia’s intimate domestic space.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2022
Two and a half more years until I could get free from this panopticon they called high school, these monsters they called people.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
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.
