Someone who suffers from claustrophobia feels very uncomfortable or anxious when they are in small or enclosed places.
2. uncountable noun [oft theNOUNof noun]
If you talk about theclaustrophobiaof a place or situation, you mean it makes you feel uncomfortable or unhappy because you are enclosed or restricted.
In the claustrophobia of her parents' house she had no stimulus for creativity.
claustrophobia in British English
(ˌklɔːstrəˈfəʊbɪə, ˌklɒs-)
noun
an abnormal fear of being closed in or of being in a confined space
Derived forms
claustrophobe (ˈclaustroˌphobe)
noun
Word origin
C19: from claustro-, from Latin claustrumcloister + -phobia
claustrophobia in American English
(ˌklɔstrəˈfoʊbiə)
noun
an abnormal fear of being in an enclosed or confined place
Derived forms
claustrophobic (ˌclaustroˈphobic)
adjective
Word origin
< L claustrum (see cloister) + -phobia
Examples of 'claustrophobia' in a sentence
claustrophobia
You get the safety net of village life without the claustrophobia.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
To what extent does your claustrophobia restrict your life?
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Everyone longs to escape the claustrophobia of this mining village.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
There is little fear of claustrophobia or boredom, staff say.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I had to escape from the claustrophobia.
The Sun (2011)
A squash court is the last place to escape the claustrophobia of embarrassment.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The claustrophobia of tiny houses.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Although we hear little of her present-day life, the sense of her escape from the claustrophobia of home and the strictures of her upbringing is strong.