dormitory

[dawr-mi-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

noun

plural

dormitories 

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.

dormitory

/ -trɪ, ˈdɔːmɪtərɪ /

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 )

Word History and Origins

Origin of dormitory¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dormitory¹

C15: from Latin dormītōrium, from dormīre to sleep

Example Sentences

"Come see our dormitories," student Ulric Sambizafy offered at one of a wave of protests that have rocked the Indian Ocean island nation since September 25.

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While her fellow inmates were confined to their dormitories after breakfast, Maxwell met with several visitors in the federal prison camp’s chapel, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Sister Jean lived on the top floor of Regis Hall, a campus dormitory that housed mostly freshmen.

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These mill towns employed young women from rural New England, providing dormitory housing and attempting to maintain moral oversight while maximizing efficiency.

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About an hour and a half later, medical staff sent him back to his dormitory.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bedroom 
• dorm 
• dorm room www.thesaurus.com