rubbernecking
noun/ˈɹʊbɚˌnɛkɪŋ/
Etymology From rubber + neck + -ing.
1
The act of slowing down while driving a vehicle, in order to see the scene of an accident.
- "The resulting wreckage blocks the entire southbound side of the Interstate, while the inevitable rubbernecking slows traffic on the northbound side to little more than the speed of a brisk walk."2004, Robert G. Ferrell, Tangent: A Novel, →ISBN, page 131:
2
Generally, any act of observation in a manner considered unduly overt or otherwise unseemly.
- The children had never been in such a large museum and their rubbernecking was rather amusing.
- Related terms
- gapers' block, gawkers' block