cramped.

Too restricted in space for comfortable movement or use.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• cramped quarters
• cramped conditions
• cramped waiting room

On the page

The cramped waiting room forced strangers to share armrests.

Three apprentices lived above the shop in cramped quarters.

Even an empty suitcase was difficult to open in the cramped cabin.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting. Negative judgment about insufficient room, not merely small dimensions. An established participial adjective from cramp (restrict or hinder). Cram (pack tightly) is semantically related but a separate verb. Comparative: more cramped; superlative: most cramped. Participial source verb [base, third-person present, past, past participle, -ing]: cramp, cramps, cramped, cramped, cramping. Record these as same-lexeme form aliases, not additional vocabulary entries.