palace
Americannoun
-
palaces
plural
-
the official residence of a king, queen, bishop, or other sovereign or exalted personage.
-
a large and stately mansion or building.
-
a large and usually ornate place for entertainment, exhibitions, etc.
noun
-
the official residence of a reigning monarch or member of a royal family
Buckingham Palace
-
the official residence of various high-ranking church dignitaries or members of the nobility, as of an archbishop
-
a large and richly furnished building resembling a royal palace
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of palace
1200–50; Middle English < Medieval Latin palācium, spelling variant of palātium, Latin: generic use of Palātium name of the hill in Rome on which the emperor's palace was situated; replacing Middle English paleis < Old French ≪ Latin Palātium
Explanation
A palace is a beautiful, large house where someone important, like a king, lives. Have you ever seen Buckingham Palace? That's where the Queen of England lives, and it's an enormous, ornate, heavily guarded building, which is typical of palaces. Palaces are lavish and over-the-top, because they are usually the home of a ruler such as a king, queen, or dictator. If you don’t live like a king, take comfort in this quote from the English poet John Donne: “Be thine own palace, or the world’s thy jail.”
Vocabulary lists containing palace
"Return to Titanic" and "Talking with Robert Ballard"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Unit 13
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for June 4–June 10, 2022
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Conservation teams and experts were checking Granada's Alhambra palace, a UNESCO-listed jewel of medieval Islamic architecture and the seat of Spain's last Muslim kingdom, the site wrote on X.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Elsewhere, the paper reports on "Iconic Diana dresses revealed among palace archives", embedding a photo of the late Princess of Wales.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The annual event was initiated in 2012 by the then-governor when 100 couples - primarily widows and divorcees - wed at the palace.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
The Westlake Theatre opened in 1926 as a 1,949-seat vaudeville and movie palace overlooking MacArthur Park, according to the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
“For she is a good queen, and that means she must be curious to know what goes on outside the palace, as well as within.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Habaneros grumble that the money he spent turning old palaces into stunning hotels -- now empty -- was wasted.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
The city had no known palaces where a ruler or ruling class could have controlled these tools of commerce and administration.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
The royal family relies on public funding to run its “core” operations, from trips around the U.K. and abroad to the pricey upkeep of aging palaces across the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
For the last few years, Zegna has held the keys to the palaces of two of the biggest names in fashion: Tom Ford and Thom Browne.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Lands where there were palaces of snow and palaces of sand.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
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.
