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

Around the same time, video obtained by CNN shows a cabin at the boys Camp La Junta floating away in the floodwaters. —Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 12 July 2025

Fundy Trail Provincial Park dark-sky preserve: There are plans to add an RV park and cabins to the campground at this 6,323-acre (2,559 hectares) park with a scenic drive along the Bay of Fundy coast, hiking and biking trails, coastal lookouts, beaches and waterfalls. —Jamie Carter, Space.com, 12 July 2025

Verb

Ten log cabins each have two bedrooms, full kitchens, and porches (cabins 2-6 have the best lake views) and Clyde River Recreation delivers kayaks, paddleboards, and canoes right to the property (from $35 a day). —Jen Murphy, Outside Online, 22 May 2025

Ultimately, though, the new administration may conclude that some statutes inherently impose excessive economic costs, that cannot be cabined merely through rulemaking oversight. —Alden Abbott, Forbes, 3 Jan. 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