patio
Americannoun
-
an area, usually paved, adjoining a house and used as an area for outdoor lounging, dining, etc.
-
a courtyard, especially of a house, enclosed by low buildings or walls.
noun
-
an open inner courtyard, esp one in a Spanish or Spanish-American house
-
an area adjoining a house, esp one that is paved and used for outdoor activities
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of patio
1820–30, < Spanish, Old Spanish: courtyard, perhaps originally open area; compare Medieval Latin patium meadow, pasturage, perhaps derivative of Latin *patitus, past participle of patēre to lie open. See patent
Explanation
A patio is a space for sitting outside that's usually paved. Your neighbors' patio might be paved with bricks and decorated with flowers in pots. Some patios are paved with stone or concrete slabs that together form a sort of outdoor floor. You can also call this area a terrace, verandah, or courtyard. A patio is usually located beside or behind a house or apartment building, although some public buildings also have patios — a restaurant might have a patio for outdoor seating, for example. Patio means "court open to the sky" in Spanish, from the Old Provençal pati, "communal pasture."
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:
Around her are patio tables displaying the kind of food the shop carried: pies and cakes, what appear to be stuffed tomatoes, baguettes, sophisticated deli salads, gorgeous hunks of cheese.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
Local property owner Jon Janikies testified that the bill would allow the public to “destroy” his entire outdoor patio, “which I have enhanced with an outdoor bed, sink, television, fireplace, tables and chairs.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Speaking later to a group in the historic White House Rose Garden -- which Trump has remade into a patio similar to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida -- he lamented the lawsuits.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
The Heritage crew buzzed around inside the kitchen and guided eaters to the patio.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
I wrapped a yellow beach towel around my shivering body and sank into a patio chair.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Outside, luxury abounds across the elegantly manicured lawns, while a built-in barbecue area and private covered patios provide the perfect place for an outdoor meal.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
They have battled to keep their windows, patios and cars clean - and they have been unable to hang out their washing as piles of soot would gather on anything in their gardens.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026
Filled with surprising patios, alleys and landings, it’s one of his forays into postmodernism: brightly colored buildings contain, among other features, gabled brick rooflines, extra-bulky columns, long cantilevers and cylindrical steel elevators.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025
Available in 55-, 65-, and 75-inch models, it fits everything from intimate patios to sprawling decks.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2025
New Orleans was a night town, but in late after noon, the restaurant patios had people out drinking.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
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.
