rubber room

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of rubber room¹

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

He spent three days in a rubber room wearing a plastic smock before returning.

From The Daily Beast

Like New York City schoolteachers consigned to the “rubber room,” Lerner cannot be easily dismissed.

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• mental health institution
• psychiatric hospital
• psychiatric ward