locker room

locker room — noun

IPA/ˈlɒkə ruːm/
IPA/ˈlɑːkər ruːm/

1. a dedicated space fitted with rows of locked cabinets where people change their

1.nounB1
Definition

a dedicated space fitted with rows of locked cabinets where people change their clothes and keep personal items safe, typically found at places where people play sports or exercise.

Example

Hao rushed into the locker room after the game to grab his backpack before the bus left.

noun: room with lockers for changing and storage

The school added new lockers to the locker room during the summer break.

Common collocations
  • go to the locker room
  • wait in the locker room
  • locker room attendant
  • locker room policy
  • enter the locker room
  • leave the locker room
Synonyms
  • changing room

    the standard term in British English and Commonwealth countries; interchangeable with 'locker room' in meaning but preferred regionally

  • dressing room

    often used for theatre or performance spaces rather than sports facilities

  • locker facility

    a more formal or institutional term, less common in everyday speech

Usage Note

This term is most common in American English. In British English, 'changing room' is used more often for the same kind of space, though 'locker room' is widely understood.

Common Mistakes

I left my bag in the locker while I swam.
I left my bag in the locker room while I swam.
A 'locker' is the individual metal cabinet; the 'locker room' is the whole room that contains many lockers.

locker room — adjective

IPA/ˈlɒk.ə.ruːm/
IPA/ˈlɑː.kɚ.ruːm/

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three terms describe a space where people store belongings or change clothes, but they differ in regional preference and context. 'Changing room' is the standard term in British and Commonwealth English for the general space used in sports, swimming pools, and schools — it is the most neutral and widely understood internationally. 'Locker room' is the American English equivalent and emphasises the presence of individual lockers; it is the default term in US sports culture and has also developed the extended adjective sense (crude joking). 'Dressing room' typically refers to a smaller, private space for performers backstage at a theatre or for customers trying on clothes in a shop. 'Locker facility' is an institutional or formal term rarely used in everyday conversation. In practice, a British speaker might say 'I left my towel in the changing room,' while an American speaker would say 'I left my towel in the locker room.'

changing room ↗dressing roomlocker facility

Common collocations

Nouns

  • locker room attendant
  • locker room policy
  • locker room culture

Phrases

  • head to the locker room
  • wait in the locker room
  • locker room jokes
  • locker room talk

Prepositions

  • in the locker room
  • into the locker room
  • out of the locker room

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The compound noun 'locker room' first appears in the mid-1800s, formed from 'locker' (a lockable storage cabinet, from Middle English 'lokker', related to Old English 'loc' meaning lock or enclosure) and 'room' (from Old English 'rum', meaning space or chamber). As schools, factories, and early sports clubs began installing individual lockers for workers and athletes, the room that housed them became known simply as the 'locker room'. The adjective use — describing sexually crude jokes associated with all-male groups — emerged in media commentary during the late 1900s and became widely recognised in public discussions of workplace and sports culture.