chalet
Americannoun
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a herdsman's hut in the Swiss Alps.
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a kind of farmhouse, low and with wide eaves, common in Alpine regions.
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any cottage, house, ski lodge, etc., built in this style.
noun
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a type of wooden house of Swiss origin, typically low, with wide projecting eaves
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a similar house used esp as a ski lodge, garden house, etc
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of chalet
1810–20; < French, SwissF, equivalent to *chale shelter (cognate with Old Provençal cala cove 1 ) + -et -et
Explanation
A chalet is a style of house that's mainly found in the Swiss Alps. Most chalets are made of wood and have a very wide, heavy roof that slopes down. You might think of a chalet as a house you stay in during a ski vacation. Although chalets were originally the modest huts or cottages that Alpine herders lived in, over time the area became popular with skiers and vacationers, and chalet came to mean "mountainside holiday home." In Swiss-French, chalet means "herdsman's hut" or "Alpine cottage," from the Old French word chasel, "farmhouse."
Vocabulary lists containing chalet
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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:
Harmont & Blaine sponsored a chalet on the edge of the Olympic slopes in the resort of Cortina and used photos of the nearby Olympic rings to advertise a collection on social media.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
Italian actor Sophia Loren had a chalet on the Burgenstock -- now the site of its Persian restaurant -- while queen Ingrid of Denmark was among the hotel's visitors.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
The chalet and glen continued to be popular with both tourists and locals and the building was used as a lodge and cafe for many years as part of the treasured national glen.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
The games will be set in “a luxury chalet in Park City, Utah, with contestants asked to complete a series of “mental and physical challenges over four days,” according to Variety.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026
Outside, in front of the chalet a road went up the mountain.
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
Visitors were greeted by security forces in flak jackets, some in military camouflage and others toting submachine guns, scattered amid a landscape of green pastures, wooden chalets and snowy peaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Built near the Olympic Stadium, the accommodation comprised row after row of small wooden chalets complete with running water, and the site featured a post office, newsagent, bureau de change, hairdressing salon and a restaurant.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2024
Beside the springs are cozy cedar chalets to make the hot spring visits convenient.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2024
You can make it a base for your visits or stay in the hot springs chalets.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2024
We'd land on the Normandy beaches, drive south, lie about our ages, and work in vineyards or ski chalets.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
