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
cabined; cabining; cabins
: to live in or as if in a cabin
Synonyms
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
Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 21 Sep. 2023
Enjoy the Georgia sunset from the porch of this three-bedroom cabin with a hot tub and pool table, bring the whole family to a riverfront abode on the Toccoa River, or plan the ultimate relaxation weekend at an A-frame home with picturesque mountain views.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 21 Sep. 2023
Decades ago, airlines used to board first class and use an open boarding process for the main cabin.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 16 Sep. 2023
Pilots are trained to respond to a loss of cabin pressure by descending to an altitude that is low enough for people on board to breathe without oxygen masks.
—Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2023
The rows of white canvas cabin tents newly erected in an out-of-the-way quarter of Culver City, along the bank of Ballona Creek, have the ambiance of an Army field base.
—Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2023
The itinerary noted that DeSantis needed to wear a jacket and tie for dinner and would stay the night in the club’s Eisenhower room, a cabin built for the 34th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was a club member, and marked with the presidential seal above the door.
—Isaac Arnsdorf and Josh Dawsey, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Sep. 2023
More real estate news • Portland homes for sale with alluring landscapes
• Steiner cabin on Mount Hood’s Zigzag River for sale at $595,000
• These Portland homes for sale come with green certifications and low utility bills
• Want to change the front door?
—Jeastman, oregonlive, 13 Sep. 2023
The renovations include tearing down the lakefront cabins, including Monroe’s No. 3 abode, and building new ones.
—Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 1 July 2023
From pilots’ flying time to cabin pressure, from safety inspections to public reporting of data, regulators have stayed on the airlines beat.
—Dallas News, 7 Feb. 2022
The Court tried to cabin criminal liability under the law in Skilling, but now prosecutors want to expand it again.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 25 Nov. 2022
Approaching parents and children with kindness, and escalating the matter to cabin crew only as a last resort is usually the best approach.
—Bobby Laurie, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 July 2022
Other, more furtive radiations get swallowed up by the energetic noise-canceling audioware, which uses data from wheel sensors and cabin microphones to identify and produce the nulling frequencies.
—Dan Neil, WSJ, 1 Sep. 2022
Should cabin crew wear full protective clothing, such as body suits and face shields?
—Angus Whitley, Fortune, 22 Dec. 2021
Over 500 members of British staff applied to take part, 125 appear, from Helen Wetton, a captain on the British Airways 777 fleet to cabin crew and baggage handlers, all showing them making their way back to work.
—Sarah Turner, Forbes, 6 May 2021
Still, those comments were overshadowed by her earlier effort to cabin Five Eyes operations from other issues.
—Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner, 26 Apr. 2021
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Noun
Just after the crack of dawn, a few dozen late-teens and twentysomethings stumble from modest cabins into the cafeteria for coffee and a hot breakfast.
—Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 21 Sep. 2023
Enjoy the Georgia sunset from the porch of this three-bedroom cabin with a hot tub and pool table, bring the whole family to a riverfront abode on the Toccoa River, or plan the ultimate relaxation weekend at an A-frame home with picturesque mountain views.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 21 Sep. 2023
Decades ago, airlines used to board first class and use an open boarding process for the main cabin.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 16 Sep. 2023
Pilots are trained to respond to a loss of cabin pressure by descending to an altitude that is low enough for people on board to breathe without oxygen masks.
—Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2023
The rows of white canvas cabin tents newly erected in an out-of-the-way quarter of Culver City, along the bank of Ballona Creek, have the ambiance of an Army field base.
—Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2023
The itinerary noted that DeSantis needed to wear a jacket and tie for dinner and would stay the night in the club’s Eisenhower room, a cabin built for the 34th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was a club member, and marked with the presidential seal above the door.
—Isaac Arnsdorf and Josh Dawsey, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Sep. 2023
More real estate news • Portland homes for sale with alluring landscapes
• Steiner cabin on Mount Hood’s Zigzag River for sale at $595,000
• These Portland homes for sale come with green certifications and low utility bills
• Want to change the front door?
—Jeastman, oregonlive, 13 Sep. 2023
The renovations include tearing down the lakefront cabins, including Monroe’s No. 3 abode, and building new ones.
—Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
Verb
This is part of a series of cases where the Supreme Court has basically cabined the ability of a president to act unilaterally.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 1 July 2023
From pilots’ flying time to cabin pressure, from safety inspections to public reporting of data, regulators have stayed on the airlines beat.
—Dallas News, 7 Feb. 2022
The Court tried to cabin criminal liability under the law in Skilling, but now prosecutors want to expand it again.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 25 Nov. 2022
Approaching parents and children with kindness, and escalating the matter to cabin crew only as a last resort is usually the best approach.
—Bobby Laurie, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 July 2022
Other, more furtive radiations get swallowed up by the energetic noise-canceling audioware, which uses data from wheel sensors and cabin microphones to identify and produce the nulling frequencies.
—Dan Neil, WSJ, 1 Sep. 2022
Should cabin crew wear full protective clothing, such as body suits and face shields?
—Angus Whitley, Fortune, 22 Dec. 2021
Over 500 members of British staff applied to take part, 125 appear, from Helen Wetton, a captain on the British Airways 777 fleet to cabin crew and baggage handlers, all showing them making their way back to work.
—Sarah Turner, Forbes, 6 May 2021
Still, those comments were overshadowed by her earlier effort to cabin Five Eyes operations from other issues.
—Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner, 26 Apr. 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cabin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
Time Traveler
The first known use of cabin was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing cabin
Dictionary Entries Near cabin
Cite this Entry
“Cabin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cabin. Accessed 29 Sep. 2023.
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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
More from Merriam-Webster on cabin
Nglish: Translation of cabin for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of cabin for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about cabin
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