patio
Americannoun
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an area, usually paved, adjoining a house and used as an area for outdoor lounging, dining, etc.
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a courtyard, especially of a house, enclosed by low buildings or walls.
noun
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an open inner courtyard, esp one in a Spanish or Spanish-American house
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an area adjoining a house, esp one that is paved and used for outdoor activities
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.
Clusters of waiting patrons spilled from the foyer onto the front patio.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026
At the White House, he has added gold details to the Oval Office and paved over the presidential residence's rose garden to install a patio reminiscent of his Florida club, Mar-A-Lago.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
The Lahlums in Anoka, Minn., for example, took a trip to Cozumel, Mexico, in January, but they’re installing a patio themselves this spring, growing their own vegetables to mitigate rising grocery bills.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
He’s currently sleeping on the patio of someone’s home.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026
I find Alyssa and Garrett on their back patio.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
