madhouse

noun

mad·​house ˈmad-ˌhau̇s 

1

informal + often offensive : an institution providing care to mentally ill individuals

2

informal : a place of uproar or confusion

The day of the game against the U.S.S.R., Blythe Arena was a madhouse. Thousands milled about outside, hoping to find a way in.

—Walter Bingham

Synonyms of madhouse

• bedlam
• circus

Examples of madhouse in a Sentence

The stadium was a madhouse when the team won the championship.

it was hard to believe that this place with the bright cheery walls was really a madhouse

Recent Examples on the Web

Whereas this evening in the Spanish Gothic madhouse of the United Theater, most every song from Melanie’s Hadean pageant is received with near word-perfect communalism. — Matt Thompson, SPIN, 13 July 2026

Headphones are often my saving grace in this madhouse. — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 17 Apr. 2026

In practice, this means a madhouse of multimedia rooms, packed with gurgling videos and useless machines and humanoid bodies. — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2026

Given her reputation and TikTok-famous opener Ella Langley, the badge line was a madhouse. — Deborah Sengupta Stith, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for madhouse

• alehouse
• almshouse
• backhouse
• baghouse
• bakehouse
• bathhouse
• bauhaus
• blockhouse
• boathouse
• brewhouse
• bunkhouse
• clubhouse

Kids Definition

madhouse

noun

mad·​house ˈmad-ˌhau̇s 

1

informal, often offensive : an institution providing care to mentally ill people

2

: a place of uproar or confusion