awning
Americannoun
-
awnings
plural
-
a rooflike shelter of canvas or other material extending over a doorway, from the top of a window, over a deck, etc., in order to provide protection, as from the sun.
-
a shelter.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of awning
First recorded in 1615–25; origin uncertain
Explanation
An awning is a covering that's like a roof or extends from a roof. If you walk down a street with a lot of stores and it starts raining, you'll probably try to stay under the awnings. An awning provides shelter from rain and sun. You will often see awnings extending over the entryways of businesses. Under an awning is a place you can hang out as you collapse your umbrella on your way in, or as you open your umbrella on your way out. Awnings are often made from some type of canvas, and they protrude from the top of the store or building, kind of like the brim of a cap, which has a similar function.
Vocabulary lists containing awning
The First Rule of Punk
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From the Desk of Zoe Washington
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The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora
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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.
See Examples For:
"The signboard and the awning at the front could be blown off. If the winds get stronger, we'll bring everything inside."
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Under one straw awning, Noureldin leaned on a crutch, still weak from his injuries.
From Barron's ● Mar. 22, 2026
And because the gas pump wasn’t covered by an overhead awning, he was also soaking wet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 3, 2026
Renderings of the structure, which is situated in Symphony Park, show a cubed modernist building with a large awning that stretches over a bustling entry plaza to provide shade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025
“You come in here and tell ’em, Aunt Kitty,” I hollered over the arguing voices, waving my aunt to step into the shade under the wide green awning.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Others live in the former coal patch towns that encircle the small city of Hazleton, where weathered vinyl-sided homes with soiled awnings line the streets and the taverns fill up by five o’clock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
External shading, such as shutters, awnings or shades, can be even more effective because it stops some sunlight before it reaches the glass.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Canopies and awnings are subject to onerous permitting rules.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2025
And figures, clambering over broken buildings, moving along streets of dirt, where food markets are springing up under tin roofs and canvas awnings.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2025
Store awnings and windows, sides of trucks, even neon signs, are peppered with wayward apostrophes that either don’t belong at all or are in the wrong position.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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.
