autodefenestration

UK/ˌɔː.təʊ.dɪˌfɛ.nɪˈstɹeɪ.ʃ(ə)n/US, cot caught merger/ˌɑː.toʊˌdiː.fɛ.nəˈstɹeɪ.ʃən/

noun

The act of hurling oneself from a window, especially lethally.

Scrabble 22
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Meanings

nounautodefenestration (uncountable)
  1. rareuncountableThe act of hurling oneself from a window, especially lethally.

    Ipana, a leading practitioner of feline-autodefenestration, also helped, I think.

    2002, Ian Lauchlan, Russian hide-and-seek: the tsarist secret police in St. Petersburg, 1906-1914
    2 more examples

    She climbs out on a window ledge and threatens autodefenestration if the marriage isn't contracted, and is soon joined on the ledge by Jill.

    1986, “Rich Relations”, in New York Magazine, volume 19, number 18

    ...Lindesay had the misfortune to fall out of a window, which elicited from the Times a memorable cable, which said simply: 'Cease autodefenestration.'

    1995, Denis Ashton Warner, Wake me if there's trouble

Origin

From auto- + defenestration.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 自我擲窗 /自我掷窗
  • 自我擲窗 /自我掷窗act
Finnish ikkunasta hyppääminen, ikkunasta putoaminen
  • ikkunasta hyppääminenact
  • ikkunasta putoaminenact
Cite this entry
APA

autodefenestration. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autodefenestration

MLA

“autodefenestration.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autodefenestration. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “autodefenestration,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autodefenestration.

Source: autodefenestration on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.