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

Etymology

Origin of dormitory

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

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

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

Detainees in his dormitory submitted a grievance about commissary prices, Parada Calderon said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 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

A 2024 dormitory fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri county killed 21 boys, prompting government promises of nationwide school safety audits and prosecutions, though it remains unclear whether the measures were implemented.

From Barron's ● May 28, 2026

“I think the ones up behind the dormitory would be safer. There’s too much activity down here.”

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

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

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

Education Minister Julius Ogamba said preliminary findings indicated that there had been multiple breaches of safety measures at Utumishi Girls' School, including overcrowding in dormitories and a locked exit door.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

The facility hosts 85 beds with the capacity to expand to 100 and includes a mix of dormitories, lavatories, a kitchen and laundry facilities.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

UChicago built new dormitories, dining areas, a new library and an arts center that takes up a whole city block.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

Christina and Will walk toward the dormitories, Christina tousling Will’s hair and Will jabbing her in the ribs.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Related Words

• bedroom
• dorm
• dorm room