residence

[rez-i-duhns]

noun

1. the place, especially the house, in which a person lives or resides; dwelling; home.

   Their residence is in New York City.

   Synonyms: domicile, habitation

2. 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

3. the act or fact of residing.

   during his residence in Spain.

4. 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.

5. the time during which a person resides in a place.

   a residence there of five years.

   Synonyms: sojourn, abode, stay

6. the location of the main offices or principal center of business activity of a commercial enterprise, especially a large corporation, as registered under law.

7. Chemistry.,  residence time.

residence

/ ˈrɛzɪdəns /

noun

1. the place in which one resides; abode or home

2. a large imposing house; mansion

3. the fact of residing in a place or a period of residing

4. the official house of the governor of any of various countries

5. the state of being officially present

6. 1. actually resident

      the royal standard indicates that the Queen is in residence

   2. 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

7. the seat of some inherent quality, characteristic, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of residence¹

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; reside, -ence

Synonym Study

See house.

Example Sentences

The indictment claims the property "was not occupied or used" by James as a secondary residence, but was instead "used as a rental investment property", which was being rented to a family of three.

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Prosecutors allege that James misled a mortgage lender by claiming the home would be her primary residence.

Read more on Salon

The idea of scrapping stamp duty for primary residences could end up meaning less choice for renters.

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But if elected, it won’t come with him to Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Schwarzman tapped a manager from King Charles’s Cotswolds residence to oversee the project and hired hundreds of workers from the surrounding area.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• apartment 
• condo 
• dwelling 
• hall 
• headquarters 
• home 
• house 
• mansion 
• palace