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
Walter BinghamExamples 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
The madhouse of awards season and all its many, many controversies — not to mention an ongoing parade of natural and man-made disasters — has until now perhaps overshadowed some of the year’s lower-stakes joys.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025
But things move fast in the Goodison madhouse.
—Greg O'Keeffe, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
The show biz bona fides firmly located modern experience within the dizzying hall of mirrors that is the mass-media madhouse.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2022
Michigan football on Saturday beat Ohio State, 45-23 in Columbus for the first time since 2000 and Twitter, understandably, was a madhouse.
—Tyler J. Davis, Detroit Free Press, 26 Nov. 2022
See All Example Sentences for madhouse
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Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025
But things move fast in the Goodison madhouse.
—Greg O'Keeffe, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
The show biz bona fides firmly located modern experience within the dizzying hall of mirrors that is the mass-media madhouse.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2022
Michigan football on Saturday beat Ohio State, 45-23 in Columbus for the first time since 2000 and Twitter, understandably, was a madhouse.
—Tyler J. Davis, Detroit Free Press, 26 Nov. 2022
See All Example Sentences for madhouse
Cite this Entry
“Madhouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/madhouse. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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