cabin

1 of 2

noun

cab·​in ˈka-bən 

1

a(1)

: a private room on a ship or boat

(2)

: a compartment below deck on a boat used for living accommodations

b

: the passenger or cargo compartment of a vehicle (such as an airplane or automobile)

c

: the crew compartment of an exploratory vehicle (such as a spacecraft)

2

: a small one-story dwelling usually of simple construction

3

chiefly British : cab sense 3

cabin

2 of 2

verb

cabined; cabining; cabins

intransitive verb

: to live in or as if in a cabin

transitive verb

: confine, restrain

significantly cabins the discretion of administrators

—A. M. Dershowitz

Synonyms

Noun

• hut
• camp
• shack

Examples of cabin in a Sentence

Noun

a cabin in the woods

Don't unbuckle your seat belt until the flight attendant says it is safe to move around the cabin.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

According to a passenger who spotted her aboard the plane, the congressional representative had ignored a friendly greeting from the economy-cabin flier. —Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 7 Sep. 2025

Generic 2-Story Prefabricated Tiny Home The 20-by-18-foot cabin-style tiny home is built from durable materials, including metal, wood, and steel. —Toni Sutton, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025

Verb

Some of the measures the legislation calls for include a requirement that camps file comprehensive emergency plans for natural disasters and that cabins in flood plains have rooftop exits, as well as fire emergency plans, the statement said. —Suzanne Gamboa, NBC news, 20 Aug. 2025

This pattern isn’t cabined to conservative states. —Albert Fox Cahn, The Atlantic, 11 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cabane, from Middle French, from Old Occitan cabana hut, from Medieval Latin capanna

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

1586, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing cabin

• cabin boy
• cabin car
• cabin class
• cabin cruiser
• cabin fever
• log cabin
• pressure cabin

Rhymes for cabin

• graben

Kids Definition

cabin

noun

cab·​in

ˈkab-ən

1

a

: a small private room on a ship

b

: a compartment below deck on a small boat for passengers or crew

c

: a compartment (as in an airplane, airship, or spacecraft) for cargo, crew, or passengers

2

: a small simple dwelling usually having only one story