dwelling
Americannoun
noun
Synonym Usage
See house.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of dwelling
Explanation
A dwelling is a home — where someone lives. Houses, apartments, and condos are all dwellings. If you know that to dwell means to live somewhere, then the meaning of dwelling won't be a surprise: it's an abode, domicile, or home. Your dwelling might be a house or an apartment. Tents, trailers, and igloos are all dwellings. Anything people live in is a dwelling. If you have no dwelling, then you have no shelter and you're probably homeless.
Vocabulary lists containing dwelling
Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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There's No Word Like Home
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "D"
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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.
After Affleck gifted his portion of the home to Lopez, she relisted the dwelling earlier this month, this time with an even lower price of $49.99 million.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026
The property also served as the backdrop for the couple’s 1995 wedding ceremony, which was hosted on the grounds of the Chilmark, Mass., abode, atop a hill next to the dwelling.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026
Perhaps we’ve become so comfortable here in this flawed dwelling that any alternative is more frightening than staying put.
From Salon • May 30, 2026
It is currently unclear what offer she has accepted on the dwelling.
From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026
“Just above is this world, the place of now, the dwelling of the plants, the people, and the fierce jaguar.”
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
Definitions 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.
