What is a fear of wide open spaces or public places called?

Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by anxiety in situations where the sufferer perceives the environment to be dangerous, uncomfortable, or unsafe. These situations will include wide-open spaces, uncontrollable social situations, unfamiliar places, shopping malls, airports, and bridges. Agoraphobia is defined within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as a subset of a panic disorder, involving the fear of incurring a panic attack in open environments. However, in the DSM, agoraphobia is held to be separate from panic disorders. Sufferers may go to great lengths to avoid open spaces and public situations. In severe cases, persons become unable to leave their homes or safe havens.

The term "agoraphobia" was coined by the German psychiatrist Carl Friedrich Otto Westphal, from Greek words meaning "large public square/marketplace" and phobia, meaning "fear".