residence
Americannoun
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residences
plural
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the place, especially the house, in which a person lives or resides; dwelling; home.
Their residence is in New York City.
- Synonyms:
- domicile, habitation
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a structure serving as a dwelling or home, especially one of large proportion and superior quality.
They have a summer residence in Connecticut.
- Synonyms:
- mansion
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the act or fact of residing.
during his residence in Spain.
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the act of living or staying in a specified place while performing official duties, carrying on studies or research, awaiting a divorce, etc..
She will spend two terms in resident at Oxford University.
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the time during which a person resides in a place.
a residence there of five years.
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the location of the main offices or principal center of business activity of a commercial enterprise, especially a large corporation, as registered under law.
-
Chemistry. residence time.
noun
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the place in which one resides; abode or home
-
a large imposing house; mansion
-
the fact of residing in a place or a period of residing
-
the official house of the governor of any of various countries
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the state of being officially present
-
-
actually resident
the royal standard indicates that the Queen is in residence
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designating a creative artist resident for a set period at a university, college, etc, whose role is to stimulate an active interest in the subject
composer in residence
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the seat of some inherent quality, characteristic, etc
Synonym Usage
See house.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of residence
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin residentia, equivalent to Latin resid(ēre) “to dwell, live in, reside” + -entia noun suffix; see origin at reside, -ence
Explanation
The house or apartment where you live is your place of residence. If you're house proud, it means you keep your residence nice and tidy. The act of living in a place is also called residence. You might take up residence in an ancient oak tree when the city threatens to cut it down, for example. The official home of a person in a position of power — like a monarch or a president — is also called a residence. The official residence of the British Prime Minister is 10 Downing Street, and the residence of the President of the United States is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Vocabulary lists containing residence
There's No Word Like Home
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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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"Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky"
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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:
Critics argue that the exemption is too broad and should have included only victims whose primary residence was destroyed as opposed to landlords or investors with portfolios of properties.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
At the time, it was widely believed that the Encino dwelling would serve as the “Love Is Blind” hosts’ primary residence for the foreseeable future.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
He said he does not have “any contingency plans” for his New York City residence and is betting that this lawsuit will void his pied-à-terre tax bill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The Sheriff’s Bomb Squad and Navy explosive ordnance disposal unit from Point Mugu responded to the Ojai residence where the device was taken.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
He’d taken up residence on the front step and was scanning the road, wondering where everybody was.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Those who are staying have been advised to stay in their residences and avoid further unrest.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Deep floodwaters in Bangkok drove thousands of residents into shelters as others scrambled to buy groceries or dry out their homes on Sunday after days of heavy rain inundated markets, roads and residences.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
The authority also approved rideshare trips to private residences, Planet Fitness gyms in Sacramento, a tiki bar, a sushi restaurant in Denver and a cigar lounge in Washington, D.C., without a business purpose explanation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
You move into one of their independent living units and one day, if necessary, you can transfer to one of their assisted living residences.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
There were no streetlights to dim in Souilly to protect the town from bombs; many of the residences appeared to have no electricity at all.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
