rubberneck 1 of 2

noun

ˈrə-bər-ˌnek How to pronounce rubberneck (audio)
Definition of rubbernecknext
as in tourist
a person who travels for pleasure every year raucous rubbernecks by the busload descend upon the city for its famed Mardi Gras

Synonyms & Similar Words

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rubberneck

2 of 2

verb

as in to gawk
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise thoughtless drivers pausing on the highway to rubberneck at the accident

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rubberneck
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
So there’s no reason to rubberneck Tagovailoa’s career, praising his success, or celebrating his failures. — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2026 Time to put fingers over your eyes, otherwise this is just rubbernecking. — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for rubberneck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubberneck
  1. tourist
  2. gawk
  3. traveler
  4. stare
  5. gaze
Noun
  • Ryder’s Law was reintroduced this year after another carriage horse collapsed and died in Central Park, and in a separate incident, tourist Romanch Mahajan, 18, died after falling off a carriage after the operator lost control.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026
  • While Harding, the other tourist on the Titan, was a keen adventurer, the Dawoods preferred plusher vacations that taught them something.
    — Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of tourist
Verb
  • The film opens with Tenzing as a boy, gawking at Mount Everest, which looms across the valley like Godzilla.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Closer still to the falls, the mist is heavy enough to drench the sightseers stopping to gawk at the spectacle from viewing points, or on slippery pathways between the various lookouts.
    — Charukesi Ramadurai, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of gawk
Noun
  • Carlos Antunes, Tap’s director for the Americas, told T+L that the airline introduced bidding with different types of travelers in mind.
    — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Working with the Catholic charity Caritas, her initiative receives more than 29 pounds of medicine each week from humanitarian groups in Canada and the United States, travelers carrying donations and local residents.
    — Andrea Rodríguez, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of traveler
Verb
  • Standing barefoot outside his home at 8th Street and Balboa Boulevard, holding a cup of coffee, Ross Stewart, 79, stared at the gray sky and at the berms.
    — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Even Albert Einstein famously sat in quiet rooms for hours staring at the ceiling, knowing his breakthroughs came from stillness, not the rush of the laboratory.
    — Stephanie Kramer, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of stare
Verb
  • Despite gazing at the ghostly presence in full, Bela’s parents don’t seem all that spooked, even when the young girl is tossed around like a rag doll during an anniversary gathering at their home.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The rooms Each of Jumeirah Al Naseem's 430 rooms comes with a generous balcony or terrace gazing over the resort grounds, or up at the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of gaze

Browse Nearby Words

rubberlike
rubberneck
rubbernecked
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rubberneck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rubberneck. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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