Meaning

4 senses
  1. An area where players are temporarily confined while suspended from play following an infringement of the rules of the game.

  2. (figuratively)A place for transgressors, a limbo; a place of confinement or self-isolation after (or in order to avert) transgressions; a state of disgrace.

    2004, John Campbell, Margaret Thatcher, Volume 2: The Iron Lady, page 214, She was obliged to leave him in the sin-bin for four years.

  3. (UK, colloquial)A referral unit or special class for frequent truants.

  4. (Australia, US, colloquial)Synonym of fuck truck: A panel van with a mattress in the back.

    1978 March, Jim Elder, Camp/work conversion, Popular Mechanics, page 110, There is the shag-carpet “sin bin” with its fur upholstery, mahogany paneling, stained glass, color TV and chrome sidepipes.

    1986 January, A Family Affair, Popular Mechanics, page 86, Unlike the full-size Sin Bins of the ′70s, the new family vans are cute, comfortable and carlike.

Translations

2 languages

Origin

From sin + bin. Apparently Australian. Usage of the panel van sense is influenced by the U

From sin + bin. Apparently Australian. Usage of the panel van sense is influenced by the US trade name.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: sin bins

Synonyms

2 synonyms
area for confinement of players while suspended:penalty box

Word family

2 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
sin bin — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto