Standard Lemma guide

rubbernecker

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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈrʌbəˌnɛkə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈrʌbɚˌnɛkɚ/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A person who rubbernecks; someone who cranes their neck as though it were made of rubber to see something (such as a tourist attraction) or to watch an event (such as an accident); a rubberneck.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The minor accident caused a traffic jam as rubberneckers slowed down to get a good view of the battered cars.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: gaper, gawker, gawper, onlooker, spectator, starer

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a person who stares inquisitively

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: rubberneck

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spectator, witness, viewer, watcher, looker

History

Etymology

From rubberneck (verb) + -er (suffix indicating person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb).

Across languages

Translations

28 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Esperanto: gapulo — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Finnish: töllistelijä — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Finnish: kaulansa kurkottaja — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • French: badaud — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • French: badaude — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • French: curieux — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • French: curieuse — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • German: Gaffer — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • German: Gafferin — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • German: Schaulustiger — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • German: Schaulustige — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Irish: stánaí — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Italian: curioso — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Italian: curiosa — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Italian: ficcanaso — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Italian: impiccione — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Italian: impicciona — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Japanese: 野次馬 — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Japanese: 弥次馬 (yajiuma) — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Polish: gap — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Polish: gapowicz — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Polish: gapowiczka — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Russian: зева́ка (zeváka) — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Spanish: cotilla — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Spanish: mirón — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Spanish: mirona — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Thai: ไทยมุง (tai-mung) — someone who cranes their neck to see something
  • Welsh: rhythwr — someone who cranes their neck to see something