balcony

American  

[bal-kuh-nee] / ˈbæl kə ni /

noun

balconies plural

1. a balustraded or railed elevated platform projecting from the wall of a building.

2. a gallery in a theater.

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balcony British  

/ ˈbælkənɪ /

noun

1. a platform projecting from the wall of a building with a balustrade or railing along its outer edge, often with access from a door or window

2. a gallery in a theatre or auditorium, above the dress circle

3. any circle or gallery in a theatre or auditorium including the dress circle

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• balconied
  adjective
• unbalconied
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• balconies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of balcony

1610–20; < Italian balcone balcony, floor-length window < Langobardic (compare Old High German balc ( h ) o, accusative singular balcon beam; see balk); sense extended from the beam over an aperture to the aperture itself

Compare meaning

How does balcony compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• veranda vs. balcony
• mezzanine vs. balcony

Explanation

A balcony is a porch or platform that extends from an upper floor of a building. Your apartment might have a balcony with a view of a city park. Most balconies have railings around them to protect people from tumbling off, and many balconies provide an interesting view. You might linger on the balcony of your hotel room in Hawaii, enjoying the warm air and the distant glimpse of the ocean it gives you. Balcony comes from the Italian balcone, which in turn comes from balcone, or "scaffold." The root is most likely Germanic, possibly related to the Old English balca, "beam or ridge."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

balcony balconies

At either end of the room: a large cast-stone fireplace and a hand-painted opera balcony — the latter, a Neff riff on medieval churches, along with those columns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Joshua Robbins, 23, leant on the balcony railings of his home in Holland and Thurston Dwellings, Holborn, when it gave way on 26 January.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

The primary bedroom features enough space for a king-sized bed, and French doors here open to a balcony.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

Dramatic video showed a man clambering from his balcony through a neighbour's window to escape the black smoke.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

George nervously peered down from the balcony and said, “I’m going to trust you, Roz. I hope I don’t regret this.”

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

In keeping with the couple’s emphasis on indoor/outdoor living, the property features multiple French doors that open up directly to the yard, along with several balconies.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

The $5,000 suites, which accommodate four people, are decked out like hotel rooms with showers, balconies, minibars without price sheets, snacks galore and a drawer of Apple charging accessories free for the taking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

People celebrated on roofs, on fire escapes, at watch parties in parks and bars, at Radio City Music Hall, atop buses, on the balconies of Times Square hotels, on airplanes and in subway cars.

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026

The ornate stone balconies of the decaying colonial townhouses jutting above your head are liable to collapse at any moment.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

She glanced up at the balconies ringing the atrium.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• box
• gallery
• mezzanine
• platform
• porch
• stoop
• terrace
• veranda