dorm
Americannoun
-
dorms
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dorm
First recorded in 1895–1900; by shortening
Explanation
A dorm — short for dormitory — is a place where college or university students live. You'll find a lot of bunk beds in most dorms. If you go away to college, you’ll probably live in a dormitory — or dorm. It's much more common for students to say dorm because it's shorter and slangier. A dorm is where students live, often with roommates. Dorms have laundry rooms and rec rooms, and it's a place where many friendships are made. Students often study or try to avoid studying in the dorm. It's their home away from home. Dorms are also called residence halls and student residences.
Vocabulary lists containing dorm
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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:
But it also could have happened in a dorm room, locker room or other private setting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Student residents of the Mesa Court dorm received an email Sunday announcing a dorm resident’s death, according to a copy of the email a student shared with The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
The criminal complaint alleges that on 21 September, an Ole Miss student was found dead in his dorm room.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Winterich conducted an experiment with college students moving out of dorm rooms.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Now the diminutive freshman waited nervously in his dorm room, dressed in his best suit and preparing to risk everything for the right to order a cup of coffee at a five-and-dime lunch counter.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
It’s also a good way to get daily exercise walking or jogging up the hill beyond school dorms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
In a documentary capturing the band's early days, external, the trainees were berated for posting photos from their dorms on social media.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
In a documentary capturing the band's early days, the trainees were berated for posting photos from their dorms on social media.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
It has sold property, rented out dorms, trimmed a third of its faculty, cut courses and about doubled its endowment withdrawals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
For Luke’s sake, I went trick-or-treating in the university dorms.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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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.
