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

Explanation

An apartment is a private residence in a building or house that's divided into several separate dwellings. An apartment can be one small room or several. An apartment is a flat — it's usually a few rooms that you rent in a building. Your apartment might be in a fancy high rise with a doorman and an elevator, or over your parents' garage. Since the 1640s, an apartment has meant "separate rooms within a house," from the Italian word appartimento, which literally means "a separated place."

Example Sentences

A bottle of shampoo, cold medicine, a bouquet, a midnight snack, or even diapers can now arrive at an apartment door in roughly the time it takes to watch a sitcom.

From Barron's • May 23, 2026

The mid-range apartment hotel where they are staying is on the outskirts of Kinshasa, near the international airport in the Mikindo district, one of the poorest in the city.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

“That ban told everyone that the country wasn’t worth defending,” Ms. Wisse says in her New York apartment a few weeks after the Jefferson Lecture.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

While many apartment scouts do the work as an independent side gig, some like Miesha Gantz of East Hollywood are beginning to cross over into the formal real estate industry.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

Eventually, he heard Daniel mumble goodbyes and hurry out the apartment.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

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