Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Boredom, restlessness, or irritability that results from a lack of environmental stimulation, as from a prolonged stay in a remote, sparsely populated region or a confined indoor area.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun psychology A condition that produces restlessness and irritability caused from being in a confined space.

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  • Cabin fever is a condition that produces restlessness and irritability caused from being in a confined space. The actual term is slang for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a party is isolated and/or shut in, alone or together, for an extended period.

    The term possibly originated in the United States at the time when settlers would be snowed into their log cabins and had to wait for the spring thaw in order to travel to town. Another possible source for this phrase could be that during an outbreak of some disease, people who had a fever were confined to a cabin as a quarantine. Most likely, the phrase may be associated with ocean-crossing sailing ships in which passengers had to endure weeks and months of slow travel while living in cramped cabins below deck.

    _Wikipedia

    February 9, 2008

  • cooped up

    April 20, 2009

  • cf. space-hunger

    January 8, 2013