mews

British  

/ mjuːz /

noun

1. a yard or street lined by buildings originally used as stables but now often converted into dwellings

2. the buildings around a mews

3. informal an individual residence in a mews

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Etymology

Origin of mews

C14: pl of _mew ³, originally referring to royal stables built on the site of hawks' mews at Charing Cross in London

Explanation

The word mews refers to a row of attached houses that often runs an entire block. Traditional mews have either been converted to housing from stables, or just built to appear that way. You'll find most mews in Britain (in the U.S. they're more likely to be called "townhouses" or "row houses"). The word mews originally referred to a row of horse stables with housing on the second floor, facing an open yard or alley. Today most mews are either these same stables converted entirely to living space, or new construction that mimics the old mews.

Example Sentences

The raptors live in spacious mews that take up much of the small property’s side yard; the pool was filled in to make room.

From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2022

They called for ketchup like my lungs call for air, like a cat mews for milk, like my Absolute Best Tests narration calls for human company and/or psychiatric intervention.

From Salon • Nov. 28, 2021

Yet as he lay horizontally watching the show in his red bunk bed, those same yips and mews and zings never got old.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 20, 2021

It’s up a small mews and sprawls so casually across two floors that it still feels like the 60s inside.

From The Guardian • Mar. 20, 2019

Jon held her against a padded board that stretched from one side of the mews to the other.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George