personal space
personal space noun: the physical space closely surrounding a person, which can lead to discomfort, anger or anxiety if it is encroached.
Noun
personal space (countable and uncountable, plural personal spaces)
- The physical space closely surrounding a person, which can lead to discomfort, anger or anxiety if it is encroached.
- It is customary, moreover, for those sharing a cabin to while away train journeys chatting on the two bottom bunks, which is likely to jar with many Westerners' narrower conceptions of personal space and ownership (especially if they have paid top dollar for the prized bottom bunk).2010 February 4, The Economist
- An area which can be regarded as belonging to a person privately, in which to place belongings, etc.
- Like long-term couple Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton, who famously live in separate houses, I believe that personal space is the key to a healthy relationship.2008 May 1, Kia Abdullah, The Guardian
Forms of personal space
| plural | personal spaces |
|---|
Questions about personal space
- What does personal space mean?
- Personal space means the physical space closely surrounding a person, which can lead to discomfort, anger or anxiety if it is encroached.
- What part of speech is personal space?
- Personal space is a noun.
- What is the plural of personal space?
- The plural of personal space is personal spaces.
Words near personal space in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: personal space (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-personal space.ogg.
Cite this entry: “personal space.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/personal_space. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.