foyer
Americannoun
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the lobby of a theater, hotel, or apartment house.
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a vestibule or entrance hall in a house or apartment.
noun
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a hall, lobby, or anteroom, used for reception and as a meeting place, as in a hotel, theatre, cinema, etc
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(in Britain) a centre providing accommodation and employment training, etc. for homeless young people
Other Word Forms
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing foyer
The Catcher in the Rye
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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.
Clusters of waiting patrons spilled from the foyer onto the front patio.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026
Latecomers squeezed into makeshift rows of plastic folding chairs or stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the foyer, peering through glass doors.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
Once they step inside, they are met with an elegant foyer that features a chic wooden staircase, high ceilings, and a sparkling chandelier.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026
An AFP reporter in Moscow saw two vans of Russia's Investigative Committee parked in a yard outside the offices and staff stood inside the entrance foyer.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
I bolted down the hall to the foyer and peeked out at our street from the storm door.
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
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.
