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

Rick and Sonya Petrie say the dance provides a safe space for their nonverbal daughter, Naomi. —Leondra Head, CBS News, 4 Mar. 2026

Shedden also noted the bipartisan commission to save Social Security in 1983, when former Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill and President Ronald Reagan created a safe space to come up with a compromise. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026

The moderator starts the meeting by reminding everyone that the gathering is a safe space. —Gerald Witt, AJC.com, 1 Mar. 2026

The event honors Sam Rabin and Clyde Killens, who partnered together during the Jim Crow era to operate Knight Beat, providing a safe space for Black performers during segregation. —Miami Herald, 24 Feb. 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