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.
Officials had also said there was a lean-to — a type of crude shelter — near the campsite, indicating they tried to escape the elements.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 1, 2023
At the start of the novel, Bran lives with her common-law stepfather and his family in a lean-to on their farm in indentured servitude.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2022
At night she sleeps in an unheated lean-to.
From New York Times • May 17, 2022
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
As I sat in bed, trying to make my letters look decent, I heard John Worth go into the lean-to chatting up a storm.
From "Worth" by A. LaFaye
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.
