vestibule

American  

[ves-tuh-byool] / ˈvɛs təˌbjul /

noun

• vestibules
  plural

1. a passage, hall, or antechamber between the outer door and the interior parts of a house or building.

2. Railroads. an enclosed space at the end of a passenger car, serving as a sheltered entrance to the car from another car or from outside the train.

3. Anatomy, Zoology. any of various cavities or hollows regarded as forming an approach or entrance to another cavity or space, as that of the internal ear.

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verb (used with object)

vestibuled, vestibuling

1. to provide with a vestibule.

vestibule British  

/ ˈvɛstɪˌbjuːl /

noun

1. a small entrance hall or anteroom; lobby

2. any small bodily cavity or space at the entrance to a passage or canal

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vestibule Scientific  

/ vĕs′tə-byo̅o̅l′ /

1. An oval cavity in the inner ear that together with the semicircular canals makes up the organ that maintains equilibrium in vertebrates.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vestibular
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vestibules
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of vestibule

First recorded in 1615–25, vestibule is from the Latin word vestibulum forecourt, entrance

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Explanation

A vestibule is a little area just inside the main door of a building, but before a second door. You often find vestibules in churches, because they help keep heat from escaping every time someone enters or exits. The noun vestibule, pronounced "VES-tih-bule," probably comes from the Latin word vestibulum, which means “entrance court.” From about 1880 to 1930 vestibules were popular features in new homes because they create an additional barrier that keeps heat or cool air in and street noise out. If you have a vestibule, you can hang coats and leave shoes and gloves there instead of bringing them into the living room, kitchen and so on.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vestibule vestibules vestibuled

Federal officials detained two Target workers in the vestibule of a store and frequently gathered in store parking lots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026

Syd and I chose the tiny vestibule so he could sleep in the small, dark closet, away from the crowd.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2025

Taking the photographs in a vestibule at the end of a carriage, Edwards taped a large bag to the opposite window to reduce the glare - though the train conductor was not so happy.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2024

Julia Andreasen, a graduate student at UM, was trapped in her tent for 24 hours after drifting snow buried the vestibule.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 18, 2024

We climbed up the wide stone staircase and came through the vestibule into the long hallway where it was dark and cool, and narrow like the corridor of a railroad car.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

Others rise from the open-air vestibules of the suites.

From New York Times ● Sep. 27, 2022

Some schools had security vestibules at their entrances and buzz-in systems to get inside from the outdoors.

From Salon ● May 27, 2022

In fact, Ruthroff says, vestibules first became popular architectural features during the Spanish flu pandemic a century ago.

From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2022

U.S. embassy spokesman Joseph Kruzich told the Economic Times that the embassy had employed measures, including supplementary air filtration and construction of vestibules, to provide clean air in workspaces.

From Reuters ● Nov. 7, 2016

Francie polished the brass bell plates in the three vestibules and cleaned each banister spoke with an oiled cloth.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

It was a wearisome task, especially when Wallace accompanied her, for his tastes ran to expensive and vestibuled apartments and fashionable streets.

From Martie, the Unconquered by Kathleen Thompson Norris

Solid vestibuled trains Daily, heated by steam, illuminated by Pintsch light,

From Spalding's Baseball Guide and Official League Book for 1895 by Henry Chadwick

The walls and ceiling were absolutely tight, the windows and vestibuled door screened and all precautions taken to prevent the entrance of insects.

From Popular Science Monthly Oct, Nov, Dec, 1915 — Volume 86 by Anonymous

To our English cousins these ships were at first as much of a curiosity as our vestibuled trains were a few years since.

From American Merchant Ships and Sailors by Willis J. (Willis John) Abbot

A sudden rush, a soft cry, caused him to pause on the second step of the vestibuled car.

From Lo, Michael! by Grace Livingston Hill

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Related Words

• doorway
• foyer
• hallway
• porch

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