garret
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of garret1
1300–50; Middle English garite watchtower < Old French garite, guerite watchtower, derivative of garir, guarir to defend, protect; see garrison
Origin of garret2
First recorded in 1835–45; of uncertain origin
Explanation
A garret is a room at the very top of a house, just underneath the roof. If you don't have enough money to rent a proper room, you might be able to rent a garret. Garret comes from the old French word guerite, which means "watchtower" or "sentry box." These days, a garret has nothing to do with war; it simply means the little room at the very top of a building, which is also called an attic. The idea of living in a garret is romantically associated with being a starving artist — great if you don't mind hunger and stooping over all the time because the roof is so low.
Vocabulary lists containing garret
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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.
They are ready to remake the world from their cold-water garret.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025
In May 1976, Rybakov’s close friend, dissident artist Yevgeny Rukhin, died in a fire in his garret studio in St. Petersburg, where he was meeting with friends.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 23, 2022
The romantic image of the writer in the garret doesn't do justice to the tedious reality of churning out words, one after another.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2022
Since leaving prison in 2014, Mr. Beal has lived in a garret above a Midtown synagogue.
From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2021
“I live a mad, abandoned life, draped in a shawl and going from garret to garret.”
From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson
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.
