apartment

noun

apart·​ment ə-ˈpärt-mənt 

plural apartments

1

: a room or set of rooms fitted especially with housekeeping facilities and usually leased as a dwelling

2

: a building containing several individual apartments

3

British : a large and impressive room or set of rooms

—usually plural

Assured that the Queen and Prince Philip had retired to bed, Mr Hillyard tried to pass through the Royal apartments as the train left Aberdeen on its journey to London.

—Jonathan Petre

apartmental

ə-ˌpärt-ˈmen-tᵊl 

adjective

Synonyms

• diggings [chiefly British]
• digs
• flat [chiefly British]
• lodgings
• suite
• tenement

Examples of apartment in a Sentence

We lived in an apartment for several years before buying a house.

a spacious six-room apartment that occupies the entire upper floor of a two-family house

Recent Examples on the Web

Washington told commissioners the increase is needed because plans being submitted, especially by apartment complexes, are increasingly complex. —Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 25 Apr. 2024

Deputy District Attorney Chris Lindberg told jurors that Contreras fired 16 shots from a rifle while at the front door of the Bancroft Street apartment. —City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French appartement, from Italian appartamento

First Known Use

circa 1645, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing apartment

• apartment building
• apartment hotel
• duplex apartment
• efficiency apartment
• garden apartment
• in-law apartment
• mother-in-law apartment
• studio apartment

Kids Definition

apartment

noun

apart·​ment ə-ˈpärt-mənt 

1

: a room or set of rooms used as a dwelling

2

: apartment building