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
Noun Inflected 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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10 Words that Inspired Taylor Swift
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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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.
But Roz Foyer, general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, said she did not agree with the Supreme Court's ruling, and questioned which facilities trans people should use.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2025
The Mariinsky said Monday it will host a memorial service for its late performer Thursday at its White Foyer.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2024
Obama’s portrait is destined for display in the Grand Foyer of the White House, the traditional showcase for paintings of the two most recent presidents.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 7, 2022
Bill Clinton’s and George W. Bush’s portraits hang on opposing walls in the Grand Foyer.
From Washington Times • Sep. 2, 2022
No new magic, however seductive, should have strength to shake his allegiance to that Memory, and, true to his violet in Lorraine, he defied the Queen of the Foyer.
From Cecil Castlemaine's Gage, Lady Marabout's Troubles, and Other Stories by Ouida
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.
