lean-to
Americannoun
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.
noun
-
a roof that has a single slope with its upper edge adjoining a wall or building
-
a shed or outbuilding with such a roof
Etymology
Origin of lean-to
1425–75; late Middle English; noun use of verb phrase lean to
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.
There’s the stray red dog who’s a steady companion when he’s out living in a lean-to during the summer working months.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2025
Her likeness, hauled down in the war’s first year, is now boxed up in a black lean-to outside the damaged art museum.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2024
The painters, in less than half an hour, fabricated a moveable lean-to out from a sheet of heavy translucent plastic and lumber from the trailer.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 16, 2021
If you're outside and caught in the storm, find shelter and try to stay dry and cover all exposed body parts, exercise or build a lean-to, windbreak or snow cave and fire for heat.
From Fox News • Oct. 26, 2021
He made himself a lean-to with sticks and canvas.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
