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

In 2008 the school borrowed $20 million to build a new dormitory and improve sports facilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

A student in Huanggang city told the BBC that he had thought it was "just an ordinary thunderstorm", until he saw "things started flying through the air outside" the dormitory window.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 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

At night the barracks dormitory was glaring, crowded, and noisy.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

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

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

The new rules do not apply to notorious "coffin homes", cubicles stacked on top of each other like bunk beds in shabby dormitories.

From Barron's ● May 28, 2026

The dormitories quickly formed teams, and Penelope gave each one a list of treasures to find.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

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Related Words

• bedroom
• dorm
• dorm room

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