safe space

noun

: a place (as on a college campus) intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations

… student volunteers put up posters advertising that a "safe space" would be available for anyone who found the debate too upsetting.

—Judith Shulevitz

Women, sexual assault victims, people of color, transgender students. College campuses have created "safe spaces" for all sorts of marginalized groups.

—Catherine Rampell

Examples of safe space in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The downside to this safe space consideration is that the AI either directly or indirectly fuels the situational depression, rather than aiding in its reduction or control. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026

But for Alex, that was like a safe space. —Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 22 May 2026

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield has attempted to engage the event organizers to provide a safe space downtown and even helped facilitate an event in Hart Plaza several weeks ago. —Gino Vicci, CBS News, 18 May 2026

His fluid camera, observational without being intrusive, expertly delineates the safe space of Layla’s courtyard, shifting registers as things get darker until near the end, when jumbled night reinforces the tense uncertainty. —Jay Weissberg, Variety, 17 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for safe space

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