vestibule

American  

[ves-tuh-byool] / ˈvɛs təˌbjul /

noun

• vestibules
  plural

1. a passage, hall, or antechamber between the outer door and the interior parts of a house or building.

2. Railroads. an enclosed space at the end of a passenger car, serving as a sheltered entrance to the car from another car or from outside the train.

3. Anatomy, Zoology. any of various cavities or hollows regarded as forming an approach or entrance to another cavity or space, as that of the internal ear.

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verb (used with object)

vestibuled, vestibuling

1. to provide with a vestibule.

vestibule British  

/ ˈvɛstɪˌbjuːl /

noun

1. a small entrance hall or anteroom; lobby

2. any small bodily cavity or space at the entrance to a passage or canal

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vestibule Scientific  

/ vĕs′tə-byo̅o̅l′ /

1. An oval cavity in the inner ear that together with the semicircular canals makes up the organ that maintains equilibrium in vertebrates.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vestibular
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vestibules
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vestibule

First recorded in 1615–25, vestibule is from the Latin word vestibulum forecourt, entrance

Explanation

A vestibule is a little area just inside the main door of a building, but before a second door. You often find vestibules in churches, because they help keep heat from escaping every time someone enters or exits. The noun vestibule, pronounced "VES-tih-bule," probably comes from the Latin word vestibulum, which means “entrance court.” From about 1880 to 1930 vestibules were popular features in new homes because they create an additional barrier that keeps heat or cool air in and street noise out. If you have a vestibule, you can hang coats and leave shoes and gloves there instead of bringing them into the living room, kitchen and so on.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vestibule vestibules vestibuled

Inside the bright vestibule, the face of a protective Gorgon glowers at the visitor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

Syd and I chose the tiny vestibule so he could sleep in the small, dark closet, away from the crowd.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2025

Taking the photographs in a vestibule at the end of a carriage, Edwards taped a large bag to the opposite window to reduce the glare - though the train conductor was not so happy.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2024

Julia Andreasen, a graduate student at UM, was trapped in her tent for 24 hours after drifting snow buried the vestibule.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 18, 2024

He went to the vestibule and swung through the door into the street, feeling that ball of hot tightness growing larger and heavier in his stomach and chest.

From "Native Son" by Richard Wright

Then White went to her old neighborhood in Southeast, sleeping in building vestibules.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 14, 2022

Others rise from the open-air vestibules of the suites.

From New York Times ● Sep. 27, 2022

Some schools had security vestibules at their entrances and buzz-in systems to get inside from the outdoors.

From Salon ● May 27, 2022

In fact, Ruthroff says, vestibules first became popular architectural features during the Spanish flu pandemic a century ago.

From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2022

Francie polished the brass bell plates in the three vestibules and cleaned each banister spoke with an oiled cloth.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

Each and every word a seventeen-jointed vestibuled railroad train.

From Mark Twain's Speeches by Mark Twain

Of course, any one may ride in a vestibuled train in our country by simply paying a few dollars, but in Europe it takes a king of strong will power to obtain such luxury.

From Harper's Round Table, July 23, 1895 by Various

“Here is Stony Junction,” Dorothy remarked, as the trainman let in a gust of wind from the vestibuled door to shout out the name of that station.

From Dorothy Dale in the City by Margaret Penrose

To our English cousins these ships were at first as much of a curiosity as our vestibuled trains were a few years since.

From American Merchant Ships and Sailors by Willis J. (Willis John) Abbot

Over the vestibuled entrance rises the western tower.

From Cathedrals and Cloisters of the South of France, Volume 1 by Elise Whitlock Rose

Related Words

• doorway
• foyer
• hallway
• porch