roommate

[room-meyt, room-]

noun

1. a person who is assigned to share or shares a room or apartment with another or others.

roommate

/ ˈruːmˌmeɪt, ˈrʊm- /

noun

1. a person with whom one shares a room or lodging

Word History and Origins

Origin of roommate¹

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90; room + mate ¹

Example Sentences

A 22-year-old student at Cal State Long Beach was stabbed to death by his roommate in a swift and brutal attack that has left police searching for a motive, authorities said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Washington and Beijing are, in some ways, like a pair of roommates in an expensive apartment, neither of which can afford to live by themselves.

Read more on Barron's

He used to have a roommate named Bonnie, until the two had an altercation that ended in her biting off one of his toes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

More important, still, is that the roommate’s — or anyone’s — gender identity is irrelevant to the crime at hand.

Read more on Salon

But Stringer never did anything halfway, said John Bellina, his longtime friend and former roommate.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• friend 
• mate