rub·ber·neck
ˈrə-bər-ˌnek 
1
: an overly inquisitive person
2
: tourist
especially
: one on a guided tour
rubbernecked; rubbernecking; rubbernecks
1
: to look about or stare with exaggerated curiosity
drivers passing the accident slowed down to rubberneck
2
: to go on a tour : sightsee
Examples of rubberneck in a Sentence
Noun
every year raucous rubbernecks by the busload descend upon the city for its famed Mardi Gras
Verb
She was rubbernecking and almost got in an accident herself.
thoughtless drivers pausing on the highway to rubberneck at the accident
Recent Examples on the Web
Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 22 June 2025
Flimflam felt better in the mouth than swindle, and rubberneck was a more agreeable verb than crane.
—Ralph Keyes, Time, 1 Apr. 2021
Evelyn McDonnell 5, Literary Hub, 5 June 2025
That feels like too much of a stretch, perhaps, when the whole of football is rubbernecking in United’s direction.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rubberneck
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Noun
Yet the car will likely obey speed limits, never get drowsy or drunk and never rubberneck or give in to road rage.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 22 June 2025
Flimflam felt better in the mouth than swindle, and rubberneck was a more agreeable verb than crane.
—Ralph Keyes, Time, 1 Apr. 2021
Verb
And yet the commercial exploitation of family trauma left me feeling deeply uncomfortable and even ashamed, like I was caught holding a ticket stub for the rubbernecking line at a train crash.
—Evelyn McDonnell 5, Literary Hub, 5 June 2025
That feels like too much of a stretch, perhaps, when the whole of football is rubbernecking in United’s direction.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rubberneck
Cite this Entry
“Rubberneck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rubberneck. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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