Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

playpen

[pley-pen]
noun
  1. a small enclosure, usually portable, in which a young child can play safely alone without constant supervision.
  2. playground(defs 2, 3).
Show More

Origin of playpen

First recorded in 1930–35; play + pen2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for playpen

Historical Examples

  • The motel was run by a young married couple, and I watched the woman come out and put her baby in the playpen.

    Exile from Space

    Judith Merril

  • They'd been standing for it ever since I could remember anything outside my own playpen, which, of course, hadn't been too long.

    Four-Day Planet

    Henry Beam Piper

  • Then I bought at Montgomery Ward a playpen for about $11 for the kid.

    Warren Commission (8 of 26): Hearings Vol. VIII (of 15)

    The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

  • There was the bare necessities; there was no playpen or crib for the baby.

    Warren Commission (2 of 26): Hearings Vol. II (of 15)

    The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

  • I say it is not necessary for a young couple to have a playpen for a baby.

    Warren Commission (1 of 26): Hearings Vol. I (of 15)

    The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for playpen

playpen

noun
  1. a small enclosure, usually portable, in which a young child can be left to play in safety
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012