Meaning & use
rubberneck
Last updated
Meanings
verbintransitiveinformaldisapproving
To stare at something unusual, such as a crash, by turning or stretching your head, often slowing down traffic.
Grammar: No object; often used with at: drivers rubbernecked at the crash.
Patterns
- rubberneck at something
Drivers rubbernecked at the overturned truck and caused a long queue.
Please do not rubberneck as you pass the accident.
Tourists rubbernecked at the film crew filming on the street.
nouncountableinformalold-fashioned
A person who stares with great curiosity at something, especially an accident or a scene of trouble.
Grammar: Has a plural: rubbernecks stopped to watch.
Patterns
- a rubberneck at something
A crowd of rubbernecks gathered around the fire.
The police asked the rubbernecks to move along.
He felt like a rubberneck as he slowed beside the wreck.
Word forms
| third person singular | rubbernecks |
|---|---|
| past tense | rubbernecked |
| -ing form | rubbernecking |
Common combinations
- rubberneck at the scene
- Dozens of people rubbernecked at the scene of the fire.
- rubberneck delays
- Rubberneck delays stretched the traffic jam for miles.
- stop to rubberneck
- Some drivers stop to rubberneck at roadside accidents.
- rubberneck as you pass
- Police warned people not to rubberneck as they drive past.
- rubberneck tourists
- The rubberneck tourists blocked the pavement outside the courthouse.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gawk
- Gawk suggests staring with your mouth open in a stupid way, while rubberneck specifically implies twisting to see something, often from a vehicle.
- gape
- Gape stresses staring in shock or wonder, and does not suggest slowing traffic.
- stare
- Stare is neutral and can be polite or rude, whereas rubberneck always sounds nosy.
- gawp
- Gawp is a British informal word like gawk, meaning to stare rudely and openly.
Opposites
Word family
- rubbernecker noun
- a person who rubbernecks
- rubbernecking noun
- the act of slowing down or staring at an accident
- rubber noun
- the stretchy material that gives the word its first part
- neck noun
- the body part that is stretched to see
Commonly confused: rubberneck or eavesdrop?
rubberneck vs eavesdrop
Eavesdrop means to listen secretly to a private conversation, while rubberneck means to stare.
Practice
Traffic crawled for miles because drivers kept ______ at the crash on the opposite lane.
Choose one answer.
Slowing to stare at a crash is rubbernecking. Hurrying and overtaking would not slow traffic in that way, and apologizing has nothing to do with looking at an accident.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rubberneck”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.