grotto

[ grot-oh ]
See synonyms for grotto on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural grot·toes, grot·tos.
  1. a cave or cavern.

  2. an artificial cavernlike recess or structure.

Origin of grotto

1
1610–20; <Italian grotta<Vulgar Latin *crupta, for Latin crypta subterranean passage, chamber. See crypt

Other words from grotto

  • grottoed, adjective
  • grot·to·like, adjective

Words Nearby grotto

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use grotto in a sentence

  • But I saw rocks and trees around me; clouds; I was in a grotto and beside me was a man, that persecutor!

    Balsamo, The Magician | Alexander Dumas
  • Frederick deposited his gun in a sort of natural grotto formed by a deep opening half concealed by a thick curtain of ivy.

  • Average Jones looked down into the hollow with satisfaction, and moved his full canteens into a grotto.

    Average Jones | Samuel Hopkins Adams

British Dictionary definitions for grotto

grotto

/ (ˈɡrɒtəʊ) /


nounplural -toes or -tos
  1. a small cave, esp one with attractive features

  2. a construction in the form of a cave, esp as in landscaped gardens during the 18th century

Origin of grotto

1
C17: from Old Italian grotta, from Late Latin crypta vault; see crypt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012