abode
1 Americannoun
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abodes
plural
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a place in which a person resides; residence; dwelling; habitation; home.
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an extended stay in a place; sojourn.
verb
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of abode
1200–50; Middle English abood a waiting, delay, stay; akin to abide
Explanation
Your abode is where you live. The Queen of England's abode may be far from humble, but it's the home where she rests her weary crown at the end of each day. Though it is often humble, as in, "Welcome to our humble abode," an abode is just a formal way of describing your home. A British solicitor (lawyer) would also use the word abode to describe his office, and if he worked from his home the word would cover both his work and his residence. Interestingly, if you were to substitute the o in the middle of the word for a c, you'd have the first five letters of the alphabet — abcde.
Vocabulary lists containing abode
There's No Word Like Home
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Refugee
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This Week in Words: August 6 - 10, 2018
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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 resulting abode offers six bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms, and is described as a “one-of-a-kind architectural masterpiece.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Located in the exclusive Madison Park community, the expansive abode overlooks Lake Washington and sits on a 1.9-acre parcel.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
The four-bedroom, three-bathroom abode has a media den ideal for family movie nights or other peaceful gatherings.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The seven-sided abode features an interior court, private balconies, a catering-style kitchen with light gray cabinets and a dining nook, and a living room accompanied by glass walls and light-wood floors.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Ishtar's abode made the White House look like a tin shack.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
But South Korea's heatwave has made it uninhabitable, forcing him to seek refuge under a makeshift tarp just a stone’s throw from Gangnam’s gleaming skyscrapers, where the wealthy remain cool in their aloof abodes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
We know that no matter how many abodes David cycles through, he is unlikely to ever find one that fits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Multiple reports suggest that the mogul is planning to overhaul the two abodes to create the perfect marital mansion, where he and Sanchez will eventually settle down.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 26, 2025
Your route today heads either along the beach or a bike path lined with colorful coastal abodes, leading you to the Hermosa Beach Municipal Pier, where you can catch some heated volleyball matches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024
When people took sick, their temperatures rose and caused the body lice to seek more hospitable abodes.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
