apartment

American  

[uh-pahrt-muhnt] / əˈpɑrt mənt /

noun

1. a room or a group of related rooms, among similar sets in one building, designed for use as a dwelling.

2. a building containing or made up of such rooms.

3. any separated room or group of rooms in a house or other dwelling.

   We heard cries from an apartment at the back of the house.

4. British. apartments, a set of rooms used as a dwelling by one person or one family.

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apartment British  

/ əˈpɑːtmənt /

noun

1. (often plural) any room in a building, usually one of several forming a suite, esp one that is spacious and well furnished and used as living accommodation, offices, etc

2. 1. another name (esp US and Canadian) for flat 2

   2. ( as modifier )

      apartment building

      apartment house

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Other Word Forms

• apartmental adjective

Etymology

Origin of apartment

1635–45; < French appartement < Italian appartamento, equivalent to apparta ( re ) to separate, divide (verbal derivative of a parte apart, to one side) + -mento -ment

Explanation

An apartment is a private residence in a building or house that's divided into several separate dwellings. An apartment can be one small room or several. An apartment is a flat — it's usually a few rooms that you rent in a building. Your apartment might be in a fancy high rise with a doorman and an elevator, or over your parents' garage. Since the 1640s, an apartment has meant "separate rooms within a house," from the Italian word appartimento, which literally means "a separated place."

Example Sentences

Before snapping up their Brooklyn residence, the duo owned an East Village apartment, which they purchased for $6 million in October 2012.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

The 59-year-old, from Staffordshire, says she has paid for an apartment in the city as she waits to take a flight to Gatwick on Tuesday.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

The building, Riverwalk, was dark except for the lights in apartment 504.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

I was a “serious yogi,” and to date me would mean respecting my daily practice and being OK with the 3,000 small Ganesha statues tucked into every crevice of my apartment.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Leah still earned enough to keep her own apartment where she led private séances mostly for long-term clients.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

• co-op
• condo
• condominium
• cooperative
• flat
• suite