pied-à-terre

[pee-ey-duh-tair, -dah-, pyey-]

noun

plural

pieds-à-terre 

1. a residence, as an apartment, for part-time or temporary use.

pied-à-terre

/ ˌpjeɪtɑːˈtɛə /

noun

1. a flat, house, or other lodging for secondary or occasional use

Word History and Origins

Origin of pied-à-terre¹

1820–30; < French: literally, foot on ground

Word History and Origins

Origin of pied-à-terre¹

French, literally: foot on (the) ground

Example Sentences

His impressive property portfolio also includes an extraordinary dwelling in Washington, DC, which he purchased for $23 million in 2017, as well as a huge pied-à-terre in New York City that he bought for $16 million in 2020.

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Projection designers Yee Eun Nam and Elizabeth Barrett create a kaleidoscopic background on Chika Shimizu’s pied-à-terre set.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Besides a Manhattan pied-à-terre, there was a retreat on the French Riviera, a lavish Paris apartment and a condo in Hawaii.

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Right now though Mirren is in Hollywood at what she describes as the pied-à-terre that she shares with her filmmaker husband Taylor Hackford when they’re not home at Lake Tahoe, Nev. It’s within walking distance of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, but sometimes deer — and coyotes — show up in the backyard.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

So, instead of putting the austerity of his Navy Yard pied-à-terre on full display, the 40-year-old freshman has a tall chair and two massive softbox lights set up in front of the wood-paneled walls of the luxury building’s communal kitchen.

Read more on Washington Post

Related Words

• apartment 
• box 
• building 
• condo 
• condominium 
• dwelling 
• home 
• mansion 
• residence 
• shack