manor

American  

[man-er] / ˈmæn ər /

noun

1. (in England) a landed estate or territorial unit, originally of the nature of a feudal lordship, consisting of a lord's demesne and of lands within which he has the right to exercise certain privileges, exact certain fees, etc.

2. any similar territorial unit in medieval Europe, as a feudal estate.

3. the mansion of a lord with the land belonging to it.

4. the main house or mansion on an estate, plantation, etc.

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manor British  

/ məˈnɔːrɪəl, ˈmænə /

noun

1. (in medieval Europe) the manor house of a lord and the lands attached to it

2. (before 1776 in some North American colonies) a tract of land granted with rights of inheritance by royal charter

3. a manor house

4. a landed estate

5. slang a geographical area of operation, esp of a gang or local police force

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Usage

What’s the difference between manor and manner? A manor is a mansion or the main house of an estate. The word manner means a way of doing something, as in Please exit the building in an orderly manner. The plural form manners refers to polite ways of behaving. Both words are always used as nouns, and they are pronounced exactly the same. Manner has a few different meanings, but they mostly all relate to how things are done or how someone behaves. The word manor once commonly referred to an estate (the tract of land itself), but it eventually came to refer to the large house on the estate. Still, a house that you’d call a manor is usually a big mansion surrounded by a lot of land. For example, the mansion where Bruce Wayne lives is called Wayne Manor. A good way to remember the spelling is to ask the question: Who lives in Wayne Manor—is it Batman or Bruce Wayne?As for how to remember the spelling of manner, just remember that it would be not nice to spell it without two n’s (just downright impolite, really). Here’s an example of manor and manner used correctly in a sentence. Example: The grounds of the manor were decorated in a stately manner, with beautiful gardens and hedges. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between manor and manner.

Other Word Forms

• intermanorial adjective
• manorial adjective
• submanor noun

Etymology

Origin of manor

1250–1300; Middle English maner < Old French manoir, noun use of manoir to remain, dwell < Latin manēre to remain; see mansion

Explanation

A manor is the house of a lord — pretty fancy stuff. If you like to read 18th-century British novels, you probably read about a lot of people having dinner, dance, and restrained romance in their manors. Manor comes from the Old French manoir, meaning "dwelling place," but a manor isn't just any old dwelling place. In the days when people still had titles of nobility, the houses and the grounds of the nobles were known as manors. If you tell someone that his house is a manor, that's like saying it's so opulent and lovely that it could have belonged to a lord.

Example Sentences

His father Gyozo Orban, who is 85, owns several building material companies as well as the historic Hatvanpuszta estate he had rebuilt into a luxurious manor worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

We’re in the middle of nowhere in the north of England in an old manor house where her wedding was.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026

A classic manor house mystery, which revived the genre when it became a hit in 2019, “Knives Out” is the ideal blend of mystery and wit, with a cast of characters to keep you company.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025

The driver revealed his destination was a hilltop manor estate that Schwarzman bought three years ago for £82 million, now the equivalent of more than $110 million.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025

I shouted as soon as I reached the manor.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

Related Words

• mansion