penthouse

American  

[pent-hous] / ˈpɛntˌhaʊs /

noun

plural

penthouses

1. an apartment or dwelling on the roof of a building, usually set back from the outer walls.

2. any specially designed apartment on an upper floor, especially the top floor, of a building.

3. a structure on a roof for housing elevator machinery, a water tank, etc.

4. Also called pentice.  Also called pent.  a shed with a sloping roof, or a sloping roof, projecting from a wall or the side of a building, as to shelter a door.

5. any rooflike shelter or overhanging part.

6. shed roof.

7. Court Tennis. a corridor having a slanted roof and projecting from three walls of the court.

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penthouse British  

/ ˈpɛntˌhaʊs /

noun

1. a flat or maisonette built onto the top floor or roof of a block of flats

2. a construction on the roof of a building, esp one used to house machinery

3. a shed built against a building, esp one that has a sloping roof

4. real tennis the roofed corridor that runs along three sides of the court

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Other Word Forms

• penthouselike adjective

Etymology

Origin of penthouse

First recorded in 1520–30; alteration (by folk etymology) of Middle English pentis, from Old French apentiz, equivalent to apent, past participle of apendre “to hang against” + -iz ( French -is ), from unattested Vulgar Latin -ātīcium, noun use of neuter of unattested -ātīcius, equivalent to Latin -āt(us) past participle suffix + -īcius adjective suffix; appendant, -ate ¹

Explanation

A penthouse is fancy apartment on the very highest floor of a tall building. The penthouse can be a status symbol. Just ask the characters from The Jeffersons — they moved on up to a “deluxe apartment in the sky.” While you can use the word penthouse for any top floor apartment, it usually implies something luxurious. A penthouse is often the fanciest and most expensive apartment in the building. Sometimes a penthouse even has its own private elevator. The first penthouses appeared in the 1920s, some taking up entire top floors, though the word has been in use much longer. Originally, it meant "simple structure," from the Old French apentis, "attached building."

Example Sentences

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he built Trump Tower in Manhattan, where he keeps a gold-accented penthouse.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

“Some are free to choose between penthouse suites, while others are free to choose in which gutter to lay their heads.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

The sound of Billie Eilish drifted overhead as candles flickered along every visible surface of Boom, the penthouse lounge crowning the Standard hotel in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

A property of such high value—with its separate 5,000-square-foot guest penthouse, caretaker house, two-bedroom guardhouse, 12-car garage, and parking for 80 vehicles—has a considerably lower buyer pool, because most people simply cannot afford it.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026

The Sokoloff penthouse was dramatic and modern but cluttered with piles of books, magazines, and keepsakes.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

Related Words

• co-op
• condo
• condominium
• cooperative
• flat
• suite