abode
1 Americannoun
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a place in which a person resides; residence; dwelling; habitation; home.
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an extended stay in a place; sojourn.
verb
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of abode
1200–50; Middle English abood a waiting, delay, stay; akin to abide
Explanation
Your abode is where you live. The Queen of England's abode may be far from humble, but it's the home where she rests her weary crown at the end of each day. Though it is often humble, as in, "Welcome to our humble abode," an abode is just a formal way of describing your home. A British solicitor (lawyer) would also use the word abode to describe his office, and if he worked from his home the word would cover both his work and his residence. Interestingly, if you were to substitute the o in the middle of the word for a c, you'd have the first five letters of the alphabet — abcde.
Vocabulary lists containing abode
There's No Word Like Home
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Refugee
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This Week in Words: August 6 - 10, 2018
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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.
“Family Feud” host Steve Harvey has cut the price of his longtime Georgia home—just four months after listing the enormous abode for $5.1 million.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
He joked that in 2024, he told Chad, a character he played on “SNL,” that he would be selling the abode.
From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026
In the filing, First Foundation sought to force the sale of the lavish abode to recoup some of the money that its lawyers say the actor has failed to repay.
From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026
The six-bedroom abode then reappeared on the market in January.
From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026
Near the town was Gotama’s favorite abode, the Jetavana grove, which the rich merchant Anatha-pindika, a great devotee of the Illustrious One, had presented to him and his followers.
From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse
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.
