courtyard
Americannoun
-
courtyards
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of courtyard
Explanation
A courtyard is an area outside a building that's framed and somewhat enclosed by walls. Your friend might ask you to meet her in the courtyard of her apartment complex. In cities, courtyards provide small, private outdoor areas. Courtyards are often nestled between buildings, or tucked away behind them. For nearly as long as people have built houses and buildings, courtyards have existed — although in the past, they were used for keeping animals, cooking over an open fire, and sometimes even sleeping. The word dates from the 1550s, combining court, from the Latin cohors, "enclosed yard," and yard, from a Germanic root also meaning "enclosure."
Vocabulary lists containing courtyard
Guts
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American Street
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Lesson 4
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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 tomb features an outer courtyard, rock-cut chapel and subterranean burial chambers.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
According to medical sources, the projectile struck a crowded courtyard in a court complex.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Police are operating an office in an open-air courtyard to assist with body identification.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
By the time the party was in full swing, with trumpets crooning onstage, hundreds of guests sipping flower-adorned cocktails in the courtyard and the sun setting in the distance, everyone could see the vision.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
It didn’t help, therefore, that the hallway beyond the courtyard ended in a room with three different doors.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
To protect worshippers from the extreme heat, authorities rely on one of the most powerful air conditioning systems in the world to cool the Grand Mosque's courtyards, according to Saudi state television.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
Looming over the colorless town is its hulking circa-1385 monastery, extended in convent courtyards and stately chapels with lofty naves, offering dazzling displays of stained glass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Opening in 2028, the Broad expansion will contain 70% more gallery space, two outdoor courtyards, a live programming space and views of the museum’s art storage vault.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
Public transport connects almost every corner of this tiny country, lush greenery lines the highways and spills out of towering buildings and courtyards, while the pavements are wide, often sheltered, and free of litter.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
The courtyards were littered with uprooted trees, broken bits of walls, and dead chickens.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
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.
