alcove

American  

[al-kohv] / ˈæl koʊv /

noun

• alcoves
  plural

1. 

   a recess or small room adjacent to or opening out of a room.

   a dining alcove.

2. a recess in a room for a bed, bookcases, or the like.

3. any recessed space, as a bower in a garden.

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alcove British  

/ ˈælkəʊv /

noun

1. a recess or niche in the wall of a room, as for a bed, books, etc

2. any recessed usually vaulted area, as in a garden wall

3. any covered or secluded spot, such as a summerhouse

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• alcoves
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of alcove

1670–80; < French alcôve < Spanish alcoba < Arabic al-qubbah the dome

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Explanation

Chapels in churches are often alcoves. Picture one set off to the side with a vaulted ceiling, separated by pillars and a small railing. See that and you see an alcove, defined. If your bed is in an alcove in a studio apartment, it is in a recessed area of the room, separated by an arch or a half wall but not by a door. Think of an alcove as a sidecar to a room or even a cave. It's a separate smaller area that is still attached, but feels cozy because it is partially enclosed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alcove alcoves

From quick reels on how to fix cracks in walls, to complicated YouTube tutorials on building alcove seating from scratch, the internet is chock-a-block with seemingly endless home improvement demos.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

What I didn’t mention was that I ate the first quarter of my bowl standing up, at the bar top between my kitchen and the little alcove where our two-person table sits.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

This space also appears to have been used as a game room, with an arcade machine nestled in a small alcove.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026

An alcove devoted to gay rights displays an early version of the rainbow flag, campaign and protest buttons, and a ceiling fragment from the Stonewall Inn, where a 1969 uprising launched the gay liberation movement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025

We celebrated my fifty-first birthday with a little party in the de Vrieses’ alcove home.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Cubicles and alcoves don’t eliminate teamwork, but simply give employees a dedicated space to concentrate, recharge and hold quiet conversations without disrupting others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026

Outside the San Bernardino County Government Center, there’s now a Curtain of Courage — 14 bronze alcoves, each curved like a protective wall and dedicated to one of the victims.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025

After they said prayers for each victim, the white-shrouded bodies were carefully lowered into two deep trenches and put into alcoves that had been carved out at the bottom on the sides.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2023

My summers were spent oscillating between New Jersey beaches and the blast-chilled alcoves of my local library, reading about tornadoes, Greek mythology and Count Olaf.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2023

And the sinks in the bedrooms work, their alcoves no longer stuffed with laundry right up to the ceiling.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

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Related Words

• compartment
• cubicle

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