courtyard

[ kawrt-yahrd, kohrt- ]

/ ˈkɔrtˌyɑrd, ˈkoʊrt- /

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See synonyms for courtyard on Thesaurus.com

noun

a court open to the sky, especially one enclosed on all four sides.

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Origin of courtyard

First recorded in 1545–55; court + yard²

Words nearby courtyard

court shoe, courtside, court tennis, court tomb, Court TV, courtyard, couru, couscous, cousin, cousin-german, Cousin Jack

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use courtyard in a sentence

I’ve also met a porter in our apartment complex who every night at 7 for months sprinted around our central courtyard carrying aloft an American flag.
Every Thanksgiving, my mental health strategy is recalling memorable, personal moments|Bob Brody|November 23, 2020|Washington Post
Less than a mile away, more than 200 people gathered to watch the game in an apartment building’s courtyard.
Football is back in Happy Valley. The coronavirus never left.|Kent Babb|October 30, 2020|Washington Post
The presidential debate will take place in the Samson Pavilion, which features a massive steel roof and soaring 80-foot-high indoor courtyard.
The Startling Reach and Disparate Impact of Cleveland Clinic’s Private Police Force|by David Armstrong|September 28, 2020|ProPublica
We have previously, for example, written about why the city may have done lease-to-own deals for this building and a previous, eerily similar one, Civic Center Plaza, which is right across the courtyard from City Hall.
Politics Report: Alleged Footnote 15|Scott Lewis and Andrew Keatts|September 5, 2020|Voice of San Diego

Through a tiny window, I saw people stripped naked in the courtyard.
Misery in Minsk|Eugene Robinson|August 18, 2020|Ozy
After our helicopter crashed in the courtyard, Jimbo and I rushed inside the house.
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She slow-motion jogs through the courtyard, paints his portrait, and carves his name into a tree.
Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space’: Hell Hath No Fury Like A Tay-Tay Scorned|Sujay Kumar|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I entered the metal gates to an open courtyard full of inmates eagerly waiting for their own visitors.
Cocaine, Politicians and Wives: Inside the World’s Most Bizarre Prison|Jason Batansky|October 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was there at one of the first gigs by Julian Casablancas and the Voidz at SXSW, in Cedar Street Courtyard.
Julian Casablancas Enters the Void: On the Strokes’ Friction, Why He Left NYC, and Starting Over|Marlow Stern|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Pivoting on his heels, he casually strolled out toward a nearby walled courtyard.
Inside a Hospital for the Criminally Insane|Caitlin Dickson|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The building, which has five storeys, stands on three sides of a square courtyard, and faces into Edmund Street.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
They found the village inn to be a series of low, small buildings built on three sides of a courtyard.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
Outside in the courtyard the fire was kept burning, beside which two watchmen sat all night smoking and telling stories.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
A favorite of king and courtier, its use was alike common in the palace and the courtyard.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
One side of the courtyard blazed in sunshine, the other lay cool and grey in shadow.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for courtyard

courtyard

/ (ˈkɔːtˌjɑːd) /

noun

an open area of ground surrounded by walls or buildings; court

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

courtyard

Origin of courtyard

Words nearby courtyard

Words related to courtyard

How to use courtyard in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for courtyard