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 drive and long front garden create a sizable safe space between the mansion and the road below. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

For now, though, the band’s tour bus is sitting idle in the middle of a Planet Fitness parking lot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Shepherd uses the safe space to open up more. — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 6 Oct. 2026

Likewise, Duong used her cameras to create a safe space for her family to act out past memories to, at long last, talk about what each means to one another, good and bad. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 4 Oct. 2026

Parents can support teens by modeling boundaries and creating a safe space to practice. — Sherri Gordon, Parents, 23 Sep. 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