- present participle of dwell.
dwelling
Americannoun
-
dwellings
plural
noun
Synonym Usage
See house.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dwelling
Explanation
A dwelling is a home — where someone lives. Houses, apartments, and condos are all dwellings. If you know that to dwell means to live somewhere, then the meaning of dwelling won't be a surprise: it's an abode, domicile, or home. Your dwelling might be a house or an apartment. Tents, trailers, and igloos are all dwellings. Anything people live in is a dwelling. If you have no dwelling, then you have no shelter and you're probably homeless.
Vocabulary lists containing dwelling
Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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There's No Word Like Home
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "D"
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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:
Rather than modernizing the home through an extensive renovation, however, the couple chose to preserve its midcentury character while tailoring other elements of the dwelling to their lifestyle.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The decline in dwelling prices has gathered momentum in recent months as interest rates have risen, while a decision make tax arrangements less attractive for property investors has also weighed on the market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
The Canal and River Trust says that, post-Covid, our waterways have increasingly become "places of dwelling".
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Built in 2008, the dwelling features eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
He looked around the house unable to contain his euphoria over his selection of a dwelling.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
The 2026 Homeless Count recorded just 27 unhoused individuals in 16 dwellings, such as vehicles, tents or makeshift shelters, in Malibu.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
But its soaring atriums decorated with onyx and green marble could hardly be better calculated to induce jealousy in Trump, who frequently raves about the opulent dwellings of other foreign leaders.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
“I think it’s tragic,” said John Ingalls, 82, a flute maker who rented one of the dwellings before the city booted him from the land it now owns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
The amendment - highlighted by Jeremy Clarkson in his Amazon Prime show Clarkson's Farm - relaxed rules on turning old agricultural structures into dwellings under Class Q Agricultural Permitted Development Rights.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
They built a number of dwellings around the original mansion.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
