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Synonyms

rubber room

American  

noun

  1. Informal. a room padded with foam rubber for the confinement of a violent mentally ill person.

Etymology

Origin of rubber room

First recorded in 1975–80

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.

“That’s rubber room stuff,” Mr. Pence told him, as Mr. Jacob recalled.

From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2022

“Guys would be in a rubber room by the end of the year.”

From Seattle Times • Feb. 1, 2022

At Parkland Hospital, medical staff noted that Bowser was delusional and confined him to a rubber room where he tore at his clothes before doctors could stabilize him.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2017

We hope this year's committee is meeting in a rubber room.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2015

You couldn't just go around announcing that your mom was Athena, the goddess who invented the loom; Most people would lock you in a rubber room.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

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.