pied-à-terre
Americannoun
plural
pieds-à-terrenoun
Etymology
Origin of pied-à-terre
1820–30; < French: literally, foot on ground
Explanation
When your friend talks about his pied-a-terre in the city, it's just his fancy way of mentioning the apartment he keeps there to stay in from time to time. This borrowing from French, literally "foot on ground," designates a small second home. Dictionaries are in general content to stop their explanation of the origins of pied-a-terre by simply translating it, as if this were sufficient to explain how it inherited this meaning. On the other hand, it would hardly be a home if you didn't have your foot on the ground there some time.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax, which targets high-value second homes that owners use only part of the year, is intuitively appealing.
From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026
Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed a pied-à-terre tax on New York City second homes valued at $5 million or more.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Projection designers Yee Eun Nam and Elizabeth Barrett create a kaleidoscopic background on Chika Shimizu’s pied-à-terre set.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2025
Maybe even rent a pied-à-terre for when you need to get away.
From Slate • Nov. 7, 2022
If you cannot give any pied-à-terre in the Palace for these few hours, they will remain in an hotel.
From The Letters of Queen Victoria : A Selection from Her Majesty's Correspondence between the Years 1837 and 1861 Volume 1, 1837-1843 by Esher, Reginald Baliol Brett, Viscount
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
