makerspace

noun

mak·​er·​space ˈmā-kər-ˌspās 

variants or less commonly maker space

plural makerspaces also maker spaces

: a communal public workshop in which makers (see maker sense e) can work on small personal projects

Something like this future is already present in the small but growing number of industrial shops called "makerspaces" that have popped up in the United States and around the world. The Columbus Idea Foundry is the country's largest such space, a cavernous converted shoe factory stocked with industrial-age machinery. Several hundred members pay a monthly fee to use its arsenal of machines to make gifts and jewelry; weld, finish, and paint; play with plasma cutters and work an angle grinder; or operate a lathe with a machinist.

—Derek Thompson

The maker space, which opened last year, houses equipment and tools like laser cutters, 3D printers, a woodworking shop and more for members to utilize to create or repair items.

—Colin Slark

Examples of makerspace in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

University programs should increase their support of students by providing access to specialized makerspaces and fabrication hubs equipped with the necessary hardware and electronic components. —IEEE Spectrum, 20 Aug. 2025

The makerspace is staffed with GE Appliance employees to help with projects Monday through Friday 5-8 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. —Olivia Evans, The Courier-Journal, 14 Aug. 2025

The 45,000-square-foot innovation hub will include student lounges, study rooms, wellness and meeting areas, makerspaces and equipment rooms. —Samantha Gowen, Oc Register, 20 June 2025

This 121,000-square-foot, $75 million state-of-the-art facility will house cutting-edge makerspace labs, active learning classrooms, and advanced research laboratories. —Florida International University, Miami Herald, 9 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

maker + -space (in workspace "space for working, working memory on a computer")

First Known Use

2009, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for makerspace

• aerospace
• anatase
• anyplace
• commonplace
• cyberspace
• database
• diabase
• diastase
• dnase
• elastase
• fireplace
• hyperspace