Standard Lemma guide

nuthouse

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈnʌtˌhaʊs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A hospital for the mentally ill.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, offensive

Examples

  • That guy is totally crazy; he belongs in a nuthouse.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bedlam, bin, booby-hatch, booby house, bughouse, crazy house, cuckoo's nest, funny farm, happy hotel, insane asylum, laughing academy, loony bin, lunatic asylum, madhouse, mental asylum, mental home, mental hotel, grippy sock vacation, mental health center, mental health hospital, mental hospital, mental institution, nutfarm, nuthouse, psych, psych hospital, psychiatric hospital, psychopathic hospital, psychiatric ward, psych ward, special hospital, Tanjung Rambutan, whack shack

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

pejorative terms for an insane asylum

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Bedlam, booby hatch, crazy house, cuckoo's nest, funny farm, funny house, loony bin, madhouse, nut house, sanatorium, snake pit

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mental hospital, psychiatric hospital, mental institution, institution, mental home, insane asylum, asylum

History

Etymology

From nut + house.