claustrophobia

From Latin claustrum (“a shut-in place”), from Latin claudō (“I shut, close; I imprison, confine”) +‎ -phobia. First attested in the British Medical Journal.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌklɑː.strəˈfoʊ.bi.ə/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌklɒs.trəˈfəʊ.bi.ə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊbiə

claustrophobia (usually uncountable, plural claustrophobias)

1. The fear of closed, tight places.
   • 2007 June 16, Ben Brantley, “An Artist’s Look Back at Her Life, Now Ended”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     The first scenes, which take place in a minitheater that keeps shrinking, will be painful for anyone with even a tinge of claustrophobia.

   • 2024 August 11, Andrew Torgan and Daniel Wine, “Start your week smart: Gymnast stripped of medal, Brazil plane crash, Trump campaign hack, fighting inside Russia”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     (Editor’s note: Those who suffer from claustrophobia, kabourophobia, arachnophobia or thalassophobia are advised to skip the above trailer.)

• claustrophobic
• claustrophobe