foyer

American  

[foi-er, foi-ay, fwa-yay] / ˈfɔɪ ər, ˈfɔɪ eɪ, fwaˈjeɪ /

noun

• foyers
  plural

1. the lobby of a theater, hotel, or apartment house.

2. a vestibule or entrance hall in a house or apartment.

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foyer British  

/ ˈfɔɪeɪ, ˈfɔɪə /

noun

1. a hall, lobby, or anteroom, used for reception and as a meeting place, as in a hotel, theatre, cinema, etc

2. (in Britain) a centre providing accommodation and employment training, etc. for homeless young people

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• foyers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of foyer

1855–60; < French: fireplace, hearth (originally a room to which theater audiences went for warmth between the acts) < Gallo-Latin *focārium, equivalent to Latin foc ( us ) hearth ( cf. focus) + -ārium -arium

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Explanation

A foyer is a large entrance, like the foyer of a building that you enter before you reach the elevators. Sometimes a foyer is also called a "lobby." Foyer originally was a term in French that referred to the room where actors waited when they were not on stage. Today, a foyer is a large entrance to a building or home. The bigger and fancier a mansion, office or apartment building is, the bigger and more ornate the foyer will likely be. After all, the foyer will be the first room that visitors see when entering.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foyer foyers

Ionic columns mark the entry, leading to a foyer with sweeping staircases under 14-foot ceilings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

Upon entering the home, guests are greeted with an elegant foyer, which boasts an elegant staircase and tile floors.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

The 300-year-old building was converted into an 82-seat theatre, with surrounding corridors used to create a foyer and backstage area.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026

Each Sunday afternoon, after a Spanish-language service, lawyers, translators and parishioners gather in the basement foyer to help families navigate the immigration system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026

A carpet on the sidewalk led into the reception foyer, from which they could see into a large room of tables dressed up with white tablecloths and napkins folded to look like bishops' hats.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

The Barbican's distinctive brutalist foyers and lakeside terrace will also be developed to protect the heritage of the building, and a climate-controlled habitat to support plant health is to be introduced.

From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026

People are going to cinemas now, and at the end people stand up and applaud and talk about the movie in the foyers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2024

Migrants are sleeping in police station foyers in Chicago.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2023

“We designed it as a step-up for the first-time home buyer,” said Pettit, noting that the 2,025 residences are a mix of split level, split foyers, two-stories, apartments and townhouses with small yards.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2022

These buildings have elevators in them, and wide foyers with plants, and are called things like The Monte Carlo.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

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Related Words

• lobby
• vestibule

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