bungalow
Americannoun
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a cottage of one story.
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(in India) a one-storied thatched or tiled house, usually surrounded by a veranda.
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(in the U.S.) a derivation of the Indian house type, popular especially during the first quarter of the 20th century, usually having one and a half stories, a widely bracketed gable roof, and a multi-windowed dormer and frequently built of rustic materials.
noun
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a one-storey house, sometimes with an attic
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(in India) a one-storey house, usually surrounded by a veranda
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bungalow
First recorded in 1670–80, bungalow is from the Hindi word banglā literally, of Bengal
Explanation
A bungalow is a little house. If you’re not ready for the three-story house in the suburbs just yet, you might try living in a bungalow. The word bungalow was originally used to describe the temporary houses set up by English sailors traveling to India to work for the East India Company. These little houses were often just one story high with a thatched roof. Nowadays, the word bungalow can be used to describe any one story house. Think of the little cabin you slept in at summer camp — that’s a kind of bungalow.
Vocabulary lists containing bungalow
There's No Word Like Home
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"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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"Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began" by Art Spiegelman
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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.
See Examples For:
Singapore police seized a luxury bungalow this month worth more than $40 million as part of fraud investigations linked to the alleged transfer of AI chips.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Once they found out we were interested, they started coming up with some ideas of what a Southern California bungalow would look like,” Talbot said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
In the heart of Lead, this 1925 bungalow overlooks the Homestake Gold Mine Open Cut.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
He led me into a cream-colored bungalow he called his pathogen laboratory, where two workers in lab coats prepared milk samples.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
He lived in a modest bungalow, and wore an old faded suit that could have used a visit to the dry cleaners.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
These newly wealthy-on-paper buyers are checking out bungalows and high-rise apartments with asking prices around $1.2 million to $1.5 million.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 13, 2026
The hilly neighborhood is tucked on the southeast tip of the city near Glassell Park and Atwater Village and features a vibrant mix of 1920s bungalows and Spanish Colonial-style retreats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2026
Residents are afraid they’ll lose the small-town feel created by the Craftsman bungalows and Spanish Revival homes that once dotted the streets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025
"What I want to see is solar panels on pensioner bungalows and see those pensioners advocating for retrofitting," she told the meeting.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2025
A bunch of lights publicized the New Motel, which proved to be, as the travelers neared it, an impressive compound consisting of bungalows, a garage, a restaurant, and a cocktail lounge.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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.
