bungalow
Americannoun
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bungalows
plural
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a cottage of one story.
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(in India) a one-storied thatched or tiled house, usually surrounded by a veranda.
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(in the U.S.) a derivation of the Indian house type, popular especially during the first quarter of the 20th century, usually having one and a half stories, a widely bracketed gable roof, and a multi-windowed dormer and frequently built of rustic materials.
noun
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a one-storey house, sometimes with an attic
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(in India) a one-storey house, usually surrounded by a veranda
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bungalow
First recorded in 1670–80, bungalow is from the Hindi word banglā literally, of Bengal
Explanation
A bungalow is a little house. If you’re not ready for the three-story house in the suburbs just yet, you might try living in a bungalow. The word bungalow was originally used to describe the temporary houses set up by English sailors traveling to India to work for the East India Company. These little houses were often just one story high with a thatched roof. Nowadays, the word bungalow can be used to describe any one story house. Think of the little cabin you slept in at summer camp — that’s a kind of bungalow.
Vocabulary lists containing bungalow
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"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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"Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began" by Art Spiegelman
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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:
This deeply tender and generous memoir pulls back from the intimacy of David’s bungalow to take in all humanity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Monroe had a copy of Agnes de Mille’s memoir delivered to her bungalow at the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles in October 1960.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
"I think she is still in shock. I feel so bad for her," she said, adding the bungalow was now "a shell".
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Located near the ocean, the first home is a 1,300-square-foot bungalow with two bedrooms and a streamlined gallery kitchen featuring Caesarstone counters and Miele appliances.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
He bought a little bungalow in Torrance, worked hard, moved quickly up the ladder.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Caravans have also been placed on the site opposite a cul-de-sac of bungalows on Nantlais.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
He later outfitted his island escape with a Balinese-style villa and bungalows, creating a private getaway worthy of a Hollywood mogul.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
It took a lot to bestir Angelenos from their bungalows and Buicks, but their throats felt like sandpaper, and their chests hurt like the blazes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
But unlike Miami where it "arrived as a projection of leisure or spectacle", in Mumbai the "style resonated across various building typologies, including schools, cinemas, bungalows, petrol stations and banks," Mr Kumar said.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2025
They were pursuing the sow along a road on the edge of the resort where bungalows were fronted by small patches of gardens surrounded by fences.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
