residential
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to residence or to residences.
a residential requirement for a doctorate.
-
suited for or characterized by private residences.
a residential neighborhood.
adjective
-
suitable for or allocated for residence
a residential area
-
relating to or having residence
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of residential
Explanation
In the same way that an “industrial area” is a place of industry where people work, a residential area is made up of houses and apartment buildings — places where people reside. Residential is an adjective that expresses a relationship with homes, apartments, or any place where people live. You might refer to a residential building, a residential neighborhood, or a residential block. Something that is deemed “for residential use” is designed for use at home or rather than for business or commercial use.
Vocabulary lists containing residential
Out of My Mind
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Content Summary G.3: Spatial Reorganization
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Al Capone Does My Shirts
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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.
“This extraordinary residence represents the culmination of that passion: a Napa-inspired estate that embodies everything she loved most about residential design,” the listing goes on.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Soldiers cordoned off the area before using dynamite to blast the first ruined building apart -- a 12-story residential tower that had partially collapsed and was slanting toward the street.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Between 2018 and 2022, a client in Southern California who owned commercial and residential real estate applied for several mortgages stating that they would live in the properties.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The housing project, which was billed as a four-story, 22-unit residential condominium development, has been in the works since at least 2017, but appears to have stalled several years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The residential campus, which took kids who had no place else to go, had small houses clustered around dismal, sun-parched lawns.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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.
