dormitory

American  

[dawr-mi-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈdɔr mɪˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

noun

• dormitories
  plural

1. a building, as at a college, containing a number of private or semiprivate rooms for residents, usually along with common bathroom facilities and recreation areas.

2. a room containing a number of beds and serving as communal sleeping quarters, as in an institution, fraternity house, or passenger ship.

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dormitory British  

/ ˈdɔːmɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. a large room, esp at a school or institution, containing several beds

2. a building, esp at a college or camp, providing living and sleeping accommodation

3. (modifier) denoting or relating to an area from which most of the residents commute to work (esp in the phrase dormitory suburb )

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dormitories
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dormitory

1475–85; < Latin dormītōrium bedroom, equivalent to dormī ( re ) to sleep + -tōrium -tory ²

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Explanation

A dormitory is a building at a boarding school, college, or university where students live. Many students have roommates in a dormitory, and sometimes those roommates put up really cheesy posters of shirtless guys leaning on cars. The word dormitory is from the Latin dormitorium for "sleeping place," and if you keep going back you get to dormire for "to sleep." A dormitory is where students who live at school sleep — well, it’s where their beds are anyway. Often the first time kids sleep away at school is when they go to college. There are often different dorms for freshman and older students. Dormitories are also called dorms, residence halls, and student residences.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dormitory dormitories

The contestants stay in a candy-themed dormitory, where they will whisper their thoughts, strategic and emotional.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

This subterranean dormitory is run by Halyna Mysnyk, a 44-year-old subway employee in a red hat and a navy fleece.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

Kenya has had a long history of school fires - just two years ago at least 21 people died in a dormitory fire in central Kenya.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

As night fell, forensic investigations continued as white body bags were brought out and lined up outside the dormitory, an AFP journalist saw.

From Barron's ● May 28, 2026

They slept on three skinny beds in a row, like in a dormitory.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

North Korean workers in Russia typically live in dormitories next to production facilities, said Alisa Svitova, a 21-year-old student who worked this year as an interpreter for North Korean laborers in Russian agricultural factories.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Eleven people were arrested on site -— four Poles and seven Ukrainians -- caught in bed around 6:00am local time in makeshift dormitories set up near the machinery.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

One chimpanzee, Yvan, eventually picked up the crystal and deliberately carried it back to the dormitories.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

Twenty-one qualified for training, living together in dormitories while taking dawn to dusk lessons in singing, dancing and speaking in multiple languages.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

Tom’s tour included the dormitories; Mother’s and Dad’s room, where the baby stayed; and even the lavatory, where he pointed out the code alphabet.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

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Related Words

• bedroom
• dorm
• dorm room

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