apartment

American  

[uh-pahrt-muhnt] / əˈpɑrt mənt /

noun

1. a room or a group of related rooms, among similar sets in one building, designed for use as a dwelling.

2. a building containing or made up of such rooms.

3. any separated room or group of rooms in a house or other dwelling.

   We heard cries from an apartment at the back of the house.

4. British. apartments, a set of rooms used as a dwelling by one person or one family.

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apartment British  

/ əˈpɑːtmənt /

noun

1. (often plural) any room in a building, usually one of several forming a suite, esp one that is spacious and well furnished and used as living accommodation, offices, etc

2. 1. another name (esp US and Canadian) for flat 2

   2. ( as modifier )

      apartment building

      apartment house

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Other Word Forms

• apartmental adjective

Etymology

Origin of apartment

1635–45; < French appartement < Italian appartamento, equivalent to apparta ( re ) to separate, divide (verbal derivative of a parte apart, to one side) + -mento -ment

Example Sentences

McLaughlin said the “brave officer,” who has not been identified, lived at the apartment complex and was “protecting his community.”

From Los Angeles Times

About 250 other structures — duplexes, apartment buildings, condominium complexes — were also destroyed or damaged, those officials said.

From Los Angeles Times

Someone recorded the damage on video, she said, while a couple of people “were at his house packing up all of his valuables that could be salvaged, and they were moved to this new apartment.”

From Los Angeles Times

Today, my fiancé, Armando, and I live in an apartment in Brooklyn.

From The Wall Street Journal

She spent most days logging in from her apartment, an experience her friends at other companies shared.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• co-op
• condo
• condominium
• cooperative
• flat
• suite