dormitory
Americannoun
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a building, as at a college, containing a number of private or semiprivate rooms for residents, usually along with common bathroom facilities and recreation areas.
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a room containing a number of beds and serving as communal sleeping quarters, as in an institution, fraternity house, or passenger ship.
noun
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a large room, esp at a school or institution, containing several beds
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a building, esp at a college or camp, providing living and sleeping accommodation
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(modifier) denoting or relating to an area from which most of the residents commute to work (esp in the phrase dormitory suburb )
Etymology
Origin of dormitory
1475–85; < Latin dormītōrium bedroom, equivalent to dormī ( re ) to sleep + -tōrium -tory 2
Explanation
A dormitory is a building at a boarding school, college, or university where students live. Many students have roommates in a dormitory, and sometimes those roommates put up really cheesy posters of shirtless guys leaning on cars. The word dormitory is from the Latin dormitorium for "sleeping place," and if you keep going back you get to dormire for "to sleep." A dormitory is where students who live at school sleep — well, it’s where their beds are anyway. Often the first time kids sleep away at school is when they go to college. There are often different dorms for freshman and older students. Dormitories are also called dorms, residence halls, and student residences.
Vocabulary lists containing dormitory
The Vocabulary of College
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There's No Word Like Home
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Code Talker
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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.
"There are no military facilities, special services, or related services near the dormitory," he added.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
Paul Flores was the last person seen with Smart as the two walked toward her dormitory at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo after a 1996 Memorial Day weekend party.
From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2026
In 2001, when St. Michael’s wanted to borrow $9 million to build a new dormitory, Moody’s told prospective lenders that the institution was creditworthy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
She also alleged that the staff member would come into their dormitory room, an allegation repeated by Miyu and the third trainee the BBC interviewed.
From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026
As soon as roll call was dismissed, I ran back to the dormitory.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
