What does cubicle mean?
A cubicle is a small, partly enclosed space carved out of a larger room by partitions or screens. In modern usage it most often refers to the semi-private workspaces of open-plan offices, where desks are separated by low walls rather than full doors — arrangements sometimes unflatteringly called cubicle farms. The word also applies to small enclosed compartments in bathrooms, changing rooms, libraries, and laboratories. Cubicles offer a degree of privacy and personal territory without the isolation or cost of separate rooms, though they have acquired cultural connotations of corporate monotony and cramped working conditions. In British English the term extends readily to toilet and shower compartments, while American speakers tend to say stall in those contexts. The word derives from Latin cubiculum, meaning a small sleeping chamber, and has been part of English since the early sixteenth century.
nounA small, partitioned area within a larger room, typically providing individual workspace in an office or a private space such as a shower, toilet, or changing area.
- A small partitioned workspace in an open-plan office.
- A small enclosed compartment or booth, such as a shower, toilet, or changing cubicle.
"She hung her coat over the edge of her cubicle and settled in for the morning."
"The interns were assigned desks in the windowless cubicles on the fourth floor."
"Each swimmer had a private cubicle in which to change before the race."
Regular plural formation; used when referring to multiple partitioned spaces, as in rows of offices.
"The floor was a grid of identical gray cubicles."
"Cubicle" comes from the Latin for "little bedroom" — the same root that gives us "incubate," literally to lie down on. The office cubicle was originally patented as a way to give workers more freedom and privacy.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cubicle
Cubicle entered English in the early sixteenth century from Latin cubiculum, meaning a small bedchamber or sleeping alcove, itself a diminutive of cubare, "to lie down." The same Latin root underlies words such as incubate (to lie upon) and concubine. Its sense shifted over time from a small bedroom to any small partitioned compartment, and by the twentieth century it had become firmly associated with divided office workspaces, especially after the widespread adoption of modular office partitioning systems in the 1960s.
How cubicle is actually used
In British English, "cubicle" is very commonly used for showers, toilets, and fitting rooms; American English more often uses "stall" for these and reserves "cubicle" chiefly for office workspaces.
Easily confused with cubicle
A cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the forearm, whereas a cubicle is a small partitioned space.