lean-to

[leen-too]

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noun, plural lean-tos.

a shack or shed supported at one side by trees or posts and having an inclined roof.

a roof of a single pitch with the higher end abutting a wall or larger building.

a structure with such a roof.

Origin of lean-to

1425–75; late Middle English; noun use of verb phrase lean to

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for lean-to

hut, shack, shanty, penthouse, addition, shed

Examples from the Web for lean-to

Historical Examples of lean-to

I guess I'll take my bed up there; that lean-to is awful hot.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
Arizona galloped her up to the house and rounded the lean-to in which Joe slept.
The Night Riders
Ridgwell Cullum
And while these things were going on Arizona and Joe shared the hospitality of the lean-to.
The Night Riders
Ridgwell Cullum
With this object in view she went down-stairs and visited the lean-to.
The Night Riders
Ridgwell Cullum
Billy kept to his lean-to, when away from the government house.
Janet of the Dunes
Harriet T. Comstock

British Dictionary definitions for lean-to

lean-to

noun plural -tos

a roof that has a single slope with its upper edge adjoining a wall or building

a shed or outbuilding with such a roof

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lean-to

"building whose rafters pitch against another building or wall," mid-15c., from lean (v.) + to.