attic

[ at-ik ]

/ ˈæt ɪk /

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noun

the part of a building, especially of a house, directly under a roof; garret.

a room or rooms in an attic.

a low story or decorative wall above an entablature or the main cornice of a building.

Anatomy. the upper part of the tympanic cavity of the ear.

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Origin of attic

First recorded in 1690–1700; special use of Attic

Words nearby attic

at the wheel, at the worst, at this point, at this rate, at this stage, attic, Attica, Attic base, atticism, atticize, Attic order

Other definitions for attic (2 of 2)

Attic

[ at-ik ]

/ ˈæt ɪk /

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of Greece or of Athens.

(often lowercase) displaying simple elegance, incisive intelligence, and delicate wit.

noun

the dialect of ancient Attica that became the standard language of Classical Greek literature in the 5th and 4th centuries b.c.

Origin of Attic

1555–65; <Latin Atticus<Greek Attikós

OTHER WORDS FROM Attic

non-Attic, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use attic in a sentence

Bertha is the obstacle keeping Jane Eyre from marrying Rochester, and she is the madwoman in the attic whom the trope is named after.
Gothic novels are obsessed with borders. Mexican Gothic takes full advantage.|Constance Grady|October 16, 2020|Vox
I personally had no trouble running Ethernet under the crawl space of my old one-story house, though my current two-story house required some compromises thanks to its slab foundation and lack of attic access for half the house.
Ethernet and a mesh network will permanently solve your WiFi issues|Whitson Gordon|October 16, 2020|Popular-Science
Stay on top of clutter in your kitchen, pantry, bathroom, attic, and other areas in your home with the GranRosi farmhouse style metal basket pair.
The best bins and baskets to keep your pantry perfectly organized|PopSci Commerce Team|October 13, 2020|Popular-Science
It opens with Brumotti, 40, in the attic bedroom of his parents’ home in the seaside region of Liguria, where most citizens, like the rest of the country, are under emergency lockdown.
Vittorio Brumotti Serves Vigilante Justice on a Bike|Tom Vanderbilt|September 15, 2020|Outside Online

A part of this had to do with how Romans and especially their Praetorian Guard was depicted with the stylized Attic helmet variant with engravings and plumes.
Know Your Ancient Greek Helmets: From Attic to Phrygian|Dattatreya Mandal|May 19, 2020|Realm of History
She would periodically show up at the house and stay in the attic, where she hung beads and burned incense.
Wonder Woman’s Creation Story Is Wilder Than You Could Ever Imagine|Tom Arnold-Forster|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My bedroom was square and yellow and brand-new; this one was an attic with a gray-blue wall curling into its ceiling.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’|Eileen Cronin|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It might be on a closet shelf or perhaps in the attic, wrapped tightly in thick twine.
The Timeless Beauty of Baseball|Mike Barnicle|March 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It comes out of the drawer, the attic, the trunk of your car with the first tease of spring.
The Timeless Beauty of Baseball|Mike Barnicle|March 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Remember when “the madwoman in the attic” was more than just a metaphor for the female imagination?
Six Fictional Marriages that Have Gone Very, Very Wrong|Jean Hanff Korelitz|March 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The latter went immediately to look for his wife, and found her hidden in an attic, hanging to a beam.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
From the time of Solon the Attic months were lunar, composed alternately of 30 and 29 days.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
At the door of the lodging in the attic she stopped and tapped mysteriously; an old man brought forward a chair for her.
An Episode Under the Terror|Honore de Balzac
Chance ruled that Andrea's gaze, idle as it was from her sitting still to have her hair brushed, fell on Rousseau's attic.
Balsamo, The Magician|Alexander Dumas
The simplicity of the Attic writers would make Latin composition bald and tame.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I|John Lord

British Dictionary definitions for attic (1 of 2)

attic

/ (ˈætɪk) /

noun

a space or room within the roof of a house

architect a storey or low wall above the cornice of a classical façade

Word Origin for attic

C18: special use of Attic from the use of Attic-style pilasters to adorn the façade of the top storey

British Dictionary definitions for attic (2 of 2)

Attic

/ (ˈætɪk) /

adjective

of or relating to Attica, its inhabitants, or the dialect of Greek spoken there, esp in classical times

(often not capital) classically elegant, simple, or purean Attic style

noun

the dialect of Ancient Greek spoken and written in Athens: the chief literary dialect of classical GreekSee also Aeolic, Arcadic, Doric, Ionic

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

attic

Origin of attic

Words nearby attic

Other definitions for attic (2 of 2)

Origin of Attic

OTHER WORDS FROM Attic

Words related to attic

How to use attic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for attic (1 of 2)

Word Origin for attic

British Dictionary definitions for attic (2 of 2)