clerestory
Americannoun
-
clerestories
plural
-
Architecture. a portion of an interior rising above adjacent rooftops and having windows admitting daylight to the interior.
-
a raised construction, as on the roof of a railroad car, having windows or slits for admitting light or air.
noun
-
a row of windows in the upper part of the wall of a church that divides the nave from the aisle, set above the aisle roof
-
the part of the wall in which these windows are set Compare blindstorey
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of clerestory
1375–1425; late Middle English, equivalent to clere clear + story story 2
Vocabulary lists containing clerestory
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 wedge-shaped footprint, built to the maximum allowable area, features a ground-level studio with 16-foot-high ceilings, clerestory windows and an overhead skylight to allow for natural light.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The lighting is bright to the point of excess, overpowering the light from the stained-glass windows of the clerestory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025
To add light and privacy, Ramirez included raised clerestory windows and multiple skylights.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2022
Fading daylight pours in through the clerestory high up in the nave, sending dust-filled shafts across a space so staggeringly tall it could have been designed by giraffes.
From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2022
And the last stage was the clerestory, which consisted of sixty- foot windows that reached right up to the roof.
From "Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction" by David Macaulay
The classrooms are also bathed in daylight via skylights and clerestories, with sunbeams touching the playfully angled surfaces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025
French doors, picture windows and triangular clerestories take advantage of the sweeping canyon views.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2019
Light pours from black-framed and mullioned Brombal windows and clerestories on three sides.
From New York Times ● Oct. 3, 2018
“Part of that is floor-to-ceiling light. Creating a sense of scale brought light in all year. We played with roof overhangs and clerestories: height, overhang, roof pitch; it’s always the dance.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2017
Once in, I paid litde attention to the architecture, although I knew the terms: clerestories and naves were things I’d written papers about.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
