palace
Americannoun
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the official residence of a king, queen, bishop, or other sovereign or exalted personage.
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a large and stately mansion or building.
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a large and usually ornate place for entertainment, exhibitions, etc.
noun
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the official residence of a reigning monarch or member of a royal family
Buckingham Palace
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the official residence of various high-ranking church dignitaries or members of the nobility, as of an archbishop
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a large and richly furnished building resembling a royal palace
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of palace
1200–50; Middle English < Medieval Latin palācium, spelling variant of palātium, Latin: generic use of Palātium name of the hill in Rome on which the emperor's palace was situated; replacing Middle English paleis < Old French ≪ Latin Palātium
Explanation
A palace is a beautiful, large house where someone important, like a king, lives. Have you ever seen Buckingham Palace? That's where the Queen of England lives, and it's an enormous, ornate, heavily guarded building, which is typical of palaces. Palaces are lavish and over-the-top, because they are usually the home of a ruler such as a king, queen, or dictator. If you don’t live like a king, take comfort in this quote from the English poet John Donne: “Be thine own palace, or the world’s thy jail.”
Vocabulary lists containing palace
"Return to Titanic" and "Talking with Robert Ballard"
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Unit 13
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for June 4–June 10, 2022
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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.
In 2022, Binance said it would make Paris its regional hub, following a meeting at the Élysée Palace between Zhao and French President Emmanuel Macron, who had pledged to make France a startup nation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
Vibe: After a rehearsal dinner at the Palace of Versailles in France, private jets flew guests to a 16th-century fort in Italy for the actual wedding.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 28, 2026
While the security arrangements for July's visit remain unclear, the BBC reported that Buckingham Palace had not offered any extra security for the trip.
From Barron's • Jun. 27, 2026
Neither Buckingham Palace nor representatives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will comment on the possibility of the King meeting his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, describing it as a private family matter.
From BBC • Jun. 27, 2026
I found Buckingham Palace breathtaking and incomprehensible at the same time.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
