indoors

American  

[in-dawrz, -dohrz] / ɪnˈdɔrz, -ˈdoʊrz /

adverb

1. in or into a house or building.

   We stayed indoors during the storm.

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indoors British  

/ ˌɪnˈdɔːz /

adverb

1. (postpositive) inside or into a house or other building

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Etymology

Origin of indoors

1780–90; indoor + -s 1

Explanation

If you're indoors, you're inside a house or other building. On the hottest, most sweltering summer days, you might decide to stay indoors where it's cool. During a typical school day, elementary school students spend most of their time indoors, reading, writing, doing math, singing songs, and painting pictures. When they leave the indoors and go outside for recess, you can say they're outdoors. Indoors, first used around 1800 (sometimes attributed to George Washington), comes from indoor, a shortened form of within door.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

indoors

“A carefully curated palette of wood, stone, water, and light blurs the boundaries between indoors and out, creating an atmosphere of serenity and effortless connection to the landscape.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

The Malaysian Meteorological Department urged locals to stay indoors, with director-general Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip blaming a "cross-border haze phenomenon from Kalimantan."

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Johnnie Raines III, who serves on the local neighborhood council, knows some of the people Inside Safe brought indoors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

The slowdowns next week will coincide with annual air-raid drills—meaning residents in affected areas should be indoors, with unfettered Wi-Fi.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Everyone stayed indoors as much as possible now, and, if we did go out, we scurried quickly to do whatever we had to do, and hurried home again.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler