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

Children who spend more time indoors looking at screens and less time outside are more likely to develop myopia, also known as nearsightedness.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

"It reminds me of Covid," Djamila, a Parisian retiree said in late June, as city residents sheltered indoors from the heat.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

A frame exists within a frame, both foursquare and askew, as the great outdoors is experienced from the vantage of the safe indoors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

A Scottish toddler with a rare genetic disorder that makes her "allergic" to the sun can play indoors without the curtains closed thanks to UV-resistant film installed on the windows.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

But the blue haze of evening shrouded the street, stifled sounds, and sent everyone indoors to their secrets, and Papi didn’t come.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago