madhouse

noun

mad·​house ˈmad-ˌhau̇s How to pronounce madhouse (audio)
1
informal + often offensive : an institution providing care to mentally ill individuals
2
informal : a place of uproar or confusion
The day of the game against the U.S.S.R., Blythe Arena was a madhouse. Thousands milled about outside, hoping to find a way in.Walter Bingham

Examples of madhouse in a Sentence

The stadium was a madhouse when the team won the championship. it was hard to believe that this place with the bright cheery walls was really a madhouse
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Instead of the orgiastic madhouse that fans of Monster and American Horror Story have grown accustomed to, Devil in Disguise is a somber affair, as aesthetically chilly as a December in Des Plaines, Illinois. Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2025 Hyeseong Kim, getting his first taste of the postseason in a madhouse game, scampered home from third, joining the mass of bodies in pure elation while Kerkering remained frozen, hands on his knees. Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025 Judge pulled his hands inside the pitch and launched a 373-foot line drive off the top of the left field foul pole, turning a three-run deficit into a 6-6 tie and turning Yankee Stadium into a madhouse. Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025 The madhouse of awards season and all its many, many controversies — not to mention an ongoing parade of natural and man-made disasters — has until now perhaps overshadowed some of the year’s lower-stakes joys. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for madhouse

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of madhouse was in 1649

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Cite this Entry

“Madhouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/madhouse. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

madhouse

noun
mad·​house ˈmad-ˌhau̇s How to pronounce madhouse (audio)
1
informal, often offensive : an institution providing care to mentally ill people
2
: a place of uproar or confusion

More from Merriam-Webster on madhouse

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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