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claustrophobia

UK/ˌklɒs.trəˈfəʊ.bi.ə/US/ˌklɔː.strəˈfoʊ.bi.ə/
nounC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,859 of 15,258leans spoken

Claustrophobia is a dread of being shut in small spaces. Suffer from claustrophobia, mild claustrophobia.

It is set off by the feeling of being unable to get out rather than by the size of the room. Claustrophobia in a scanner is common enough that hospitals plan for it.

user:coffeetalkh · CC BY-SA 3.0

Definitions of claustrophobia

  1. 1nounclaustrophobiaA dread of being shut in small spaces.C1

    “His claustrophobia made the whole journey by ferry rather than tunnel.”

claustrophobia is a fear.

Where it comes from

Latin claustrum, an enclosed place, plus Greek phobia, fear; the word first appears in a medical journal.

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *(s)kleh₂w-

  2. Latin

    claustrum — a shut-in place

  3. English, today

    claustrophobia

From Latin claustrum (“a shut-in place”), from claudō + -phobia. First attested in the British Medical Journal.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

claustrophobia in the wild

  • Even bedrooms with a lock on the outside, small cars, and tight-necked clothing can induce a response in those with claustrophobia.

    Claustrophobia

  • The song is about claustrophobia, as confirmed by Sam Loeffler.

    The Clincher

  • The story is barely two pages but is usually presented in a justified alignment to heighten the feeling of claustrophobia.

    Ping (short story)

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the claustrum family

claustrophobiccloisterclaustrophobia

claustrophobia — used about once every 7,462 pages · #10,859 · point at the bar for the others