chalet
Americannoun
plural
chalets-
a herdsman's hut in the Swiss Alps.
-
a kind of farmhouse, low and with wide eaves, common in Alpine regions.
-
any cottage, house, ski lodge, etc., built in this style.
noun
-
a type of wooden house of Swiss origin, typically low, with wide projecting eaves
-
a similar house used esp as a ski lodge, garden house, etc
Etymology
Origin of chalet
1810–20; < French, SwissF, equivalent to *chale shelter (cognate with Old Provençal cala cove 1 ) + -et -et
Explanation
A chalet is a style of house that's mainly found in the Swiss Alps. Most chalets are made of wood and have a very wide, heavy roof that slopes down. You might think of a chalet as a house you stay in during a ski vacation. Although chalets were originally the modest huts or cottages that Alpine herders lived in, over time the area became popular with skiers and vacationers, and chalet came to mean "mountainside holiday home." In Swiss-French, chalet means "herdsman's hut" or "Alpine cottage," from the Old French word chasel, "farmhouse."
Vocabulary lists containing chalet
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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.
Park Chalet in San Francisco offers Atlantic salmon and a $16 flatiron steak that diners say is “prepared exactly like the adult portion.”
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026
The spot in question is Espresso Chalet, a roadside gem on Washington’s Highway 2, which stretches across the Cascades between Everett and Spokane.
From Seattle Times • May 6, 2024
La Salle 6, Bonita 3: David Mysza had a two-run single to help unbeaten La Salle win the Pizza Chalet tournament.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2024
A previous version of this article misstated the amount it cost to rent the entire Sheldon Chalet in Alaska.
From Washington Post • Dec. 21, 2022
Jon appears one afternoon in the Swiss Chalet.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
