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Synonyms

chalet

American  
[sha-ley, shal-ey, shah-le] / ʃæˈleɪ, ˈʃæl eɪ, ʃɑˈlɛ /

noun

plural

chalets

  1. a herdsman's hut in the Swiss Alps.

  2. a kind of farmhouse, low and with wide eaves, common in Alpine regions.

  3. any cottage, house, ski lodge, etc., built in this style.

chalet British  
/ ˈʃæleɪ, ʃalɛ /

noun

  1. a type of wooden house of Swiss origin, typically low, with wide projecting eaves

  2. a similar house used esp as a ski lodge, garden house, etc

"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

Etymology

Origin of chalet

1810–20; < French, SwissF, equivalent to *chale shelter (cognate with Old Provençal cala cove 1 ) + -et -et

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.

I don’t mean she naps back at a cozy chalet or even the back seat of a team van.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

Winter finds them in a chalet up a snowy mountain, with a return to the lake house for circular closure.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2025

It is not known why it was designed in the style of a Swiss chalet but has become a local landmark.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2025

“It feels like a chalet, which we didn’t love,” says Xavier.

From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2024

The German lady, who lived in the two-story chalet at the edge of town.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

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.