premises
Britishplural noun
-
a piece of land together with its buildings, esp considered as a place of business
-
law
-
(in a deed, etc) the matters referred to previously; the aforesaid; the foregoing
-
the introductory part of a grant, conveyance, etc
-
-
law (in the US) the part of a bill in equity that states the names of the parties, details of the plaintiff's claims, etc
Explanation
The premises of a property consist of the land and buildings on it, usually of a business or organization. If there are no dogs allowed on the premises of a school, you'll have to leave your furry friend at home. A game of hide-and-go-seek where you can’t leave the house will go a lot faster than one that permits hiding anywhere on the premises, including outdoors. Premises has another, unrelated meaning — it can also be the assumption or hypothesis from which a conclusion is drawn. The English writer Samuel Butler said, “Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises.” Meaning, much of life is about guesswork.
Vocabulary lists containing premises
Holes
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Unit 1: Telling Details
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Early Monday morning, agents from Homeland Security Investigations, part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, surrounded Omar’s home and entered the premises, then left with boxes and other items.
From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2026
Local law enforcement quickly showed up to tell the federal agents to leave the premises.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
To make them, firefighters go to homes and businesses in their district to interview residents, understand how they live and map the premises.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
The firm, which has premises in South Africa, Belgium and France, will open a high-value electronics assembly lab and office at EastWorks in Dalmarnock.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
We can state one of its core premises quite simply: a revolution in ideas requires a revolution in language.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
