embassy
Americannoun
plural
embassies-
a body of people entrusted with a mission to a sovereign or government, especially an ambassador and their staff.
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the official headquarters of an ambassador.
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the function or office of an ambassador.
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a mission headed by an ambassador.
noun
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the residence or place of official business of an ambassador
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an ambassador and his entourage collectively
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the position, business, or mission of an ambassador
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any important or official mission, duty, etc, esp one undertaken by an agent
Etymology
Origin of embassy
First recorded in 1570–80; variant of ambassy, from Middle French ambassee, Old French ambasce, ambaxee, ultimately from Old Provençal ambaissada, derivative of embayssar “to send a delegate,” from Medieval Latin ambasciāre, derivative of ambascia “service, office,” derivative, by a Germanic intermediary (compare Gothic andbahti, Old High German ambahti ) of Gallo-Latin ambactus “retainer, servant” (from Gaulish, equivalent to amb- “around, both” + -act- verbal adjective of unattested ag- “drive, lead”; compare Welsh amaeth “husbandman”); ambi-, amphi- ( def. ), act, ambassador
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.
Parts of the embassy were damaged and not recoverable, one person briefed on the matter said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
The end of sanctions against Rodríguez comes as Venezuelan diplomats have arrived in Washington to reopen the country’s embassy, closed since 2019, and meet with State Department officials.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Russia has ordered a British diplomat to leave the country over allegations of spying, the latest in a series of expulsions of embassy staff from both sides.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
"The UK does not stand for intimidation of British embassy staff and their families," the British spokesperson added.
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
Although he didn’t know the Bernese dialect, his German was fluent enough to be understood easily, and since it was the U.S. embassy, everybody spoke English anyway.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
