suite

American  

[sweet, soot] / swit, sut /

noun

1. a number of things forming a series or set.

2. a connected series of rooms to be used together.

   a hotel suite.

3. a set of furniture, especially a set comprising the basic furniture necessary for one room.

   a bedroom suite.

4. a company of followers or attendants; a train or retinue.

5. Music.

   1. an ordered series of instrumental dances, in the same or related keys, commonly preceded by a prelude.

   2. an ordered series of instrumental movements of any character.

6. Computers. a group of software programs sold as a unit and usually designed to work together.

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suite British  

/ swiːt /

noun

1. a series of items intended to be used together; set

2. a number of connected rooms in a hotel forming one living unit

   the presidential suite

3. a matching set of furniture, esp of two armchairs and a settee

4. a number of attendants or followers

5. music

   1. an instrumental composition consisting of several movements in the same key based on or derived from dance rhythms, esp in the baroque period

   2. an instrumental composition in several movements less closely connected than a sonata

   3. a piece of music containing movements based on or extracted from music already used in an opera, ballet, play, etc

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suite Cultural  

1. A group of related pieces of music or movements played in sequence. In the baroque era, a suite was a succession of different kinds of dances. In more recent times, suites have contained excerpts from longer works, such as ballets, or have simply portrayed a scene, as in Ferde Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite.

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Etymology

Origin of suite

1665–75; < French, apparently metathetic variant of Old French siute ( suit ); akin to sue, suitor

Explanation

A suite (sounds like "sweet") is a collection of matching things. It usually refers to rooms together, like when you get a suite at a fancy hotel. It can also be a set of furniture or a musical composition. In housing terms, a suite is an apartment made up of connected rooms. If you ever stay at a hostel in France, make sure you get a room with the bathroom en suite, so you don’t have to share the one in the hallway. When the word first came into use, it meant "train of followers of attendants," but don't call your friends your suite or they'll think you're a snob.

Example Sentences

To maximize privacy, the primary suite, which includes a beautiful bathroom with its own enormous soaking tub, is located in its own “quiet wing” of the dwelling, along with a private office.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

Elias Pike, a sophomore criminology major, lives in an eight-person dorm suite that he shares with only one other student.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

HIV is a major focus for Gilead, with its suite of HIV drugs accounting for $16.9 billion of its $20.9 billion in product sales last year, even without a major contribution from lenacapavir.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Joel Negin, a professor of public health at the University of Sydney, said Australia's measures in 1996 largely worked because they were part of a broad suite of measures implemented "very quickly" after the massacre.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Formann’s Department Store, a secretary with gray-streaked hair guarded a suite of offices.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• apartment
• collection
• lodging
• rental