dorm
Americannoun
-
dorms
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dorm
First recorded in 1895–1900; by shortening
Explanation
A dorm — short for dormitory — is a place where college or university students live. You'll find a lot of bunk beds in most dorms. If you go away to college, you’ll probably live in a dormitory — or dorm. It's much more common for students to say dorm because it's shorter and slangier. A dorm is where students live, often with roommates. Dorms have laundry rooms and rec rooms, and it's a place where many friendships are made. Students often study or try to avoid studying in the dorm. It's their home away from home. Dorms are also called residence halls and student residences.
Vocabulary lists containing dorm
Vocabulary from Readings, Unit 2
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Vocabulary from Readings, Unit 2
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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.
See Examples For:
In the western city of Herat, notices posted on the walls of a university and its dorm warned that anyone caught with a smartphone on campus would face "legal action".
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
The students at the Ivy league university had legally hunted the bear off campus and brought it back to the dorm to process the meat, according to the Cornell Daily Sun.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
As the class of 2026 looks toward the future after securing their diplomas, some are preparing to move from their dorm room back to their childhood bedroom.
From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026
His savings had run out, his father had stopped financially supporting his tuition, and in his final days on campus, he was suspended for bringing a woman to his dorm room, according to his memoir.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
The dorm was pitch-black except for a red flashing light in the corner of the ceiling that I’d never seen before.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
He flies into the city every Monday for his job, stays in free dorms for firefighters during the week, and returns to Idaho every Friday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
In a documentary capturing the band's early days, the trainees were berated for posting photos from their dorms on social media.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
She recalls that a few weeks after she arrived at the home, she first began hearing "whispers about what was going on in the girls' dorms".
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026
“The idea here is to face that challenge head on. Students in these dorms are friends not despite of but because of their differences.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
I drove around the dorms, the library, the classroom buildings, and the administration offices.
From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos
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.
