torii

[ tawr-ee-ee ]

noun,plural to·ri·i.

(in Japan) a form of decorative gateway or portal, consisting of two upright wooden posts connected at the top by two horizontal crosspieces, commonly found at the entrance to Shinto shrines.

Origin of torii

First recorded in 1720–30; from Japanese, equivalent to tori “bird” + (w)i “perch”

Words Nearby torii

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use torii in a sentence

Shinjiro torii built the first whisky distillery in Japan in 1923 at Yamazaki on the island of Honshu.
Watch Out, Scotland! Japanese Whisky Is on the Rise | Kayleigh Kulp | November 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
There is, first, the wooden archway (called torii, or toriwi) through which one passes in approaching the temples.
The Shinto Cult | Milton Spenser Terry
They are approached through archways (called torii, or toriwi) of simple construction.
The Shinto Cult | Milton Spenser Terry
Occasionally a shrine was visible within, and the obligatory torii stood at the edge of the grove, or within its first limits.
An Artist's Letters From Japan | John La Farge
Looking through a torii one is sure to be in the direction of something sacred, whether it be temple or shrine or holy mountain.
An Artist's Letters From Japan | John La Farge

Then the temple attendants brushed with brooms the mosses of the pavement about the torii, and the gates were closed.
An Artist's Letters From Japan | John La Farge

British Dictionary definitions for torii

torii

/ (ˈtɔːrɪˌiː) /

nounplural -rii

a gateway, esp one at the entrance to a Japanese Shinto temple

Origin of torii

C19: from Japanese, literally: a perch for birds

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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