lean-to

American  

[leen-too] / ˈlinˌtu /

noun

plural

lean-tos

1. a shack or shed supported at one side by trees or posts and having an inclined roof.

2. a roof of a single pitch with the higher end abutting a wall or larger building.

3. a structure with such a roof.

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lean-to British  

noun

1. a roof that has a single slope with its upper edge adjoining a wall or building

2. a shed or outbuilding with such a roof

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Etymology

Origin of lean-to

1425–75; late Middle English; noun use of verb phrase lean to

Example Sentences

The largest was unfinished and made from unplastered cement blocks with a tin roof, while two were just lean-to constructs of roofing sheets with nothing more, and the last an open, untidily thatched hut.

From Literature

He led them down an alley, past a corrugated iron lean-to, toward the dock.

From Literature

There’s the stray red dog who’s a steady companion when he’s out living in a lean-to during the summer working months.

From Los Angeles Times

The overheated furrier rushed to erect a lean-to out of walking sticks and an antelope hide, fanning himself with one hand the entire time.

From Literature

Her likeness, hauled down in the war’s first year, is now boxed up in a black lean-to outside the damaged art museum.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hut
• shack
• shanty