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 of apartment

• penthouse
• lodgings
• condominium
• suite
• flat
• tenement
• condo

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

On Friday nights, the group met in a member’s apartment for Shabbat services and a potluck dinner. —Eyal Press, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026

Austin Duffield was asleep on his couch in the apartment below Cincotti's when the fire began. —Garrett Behanna, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026

Authorities have charged three people in connection with a deadly shootout that left two people dead last weekend at a Brookhaven apartment complex. —Shaddi Abusaid, AJC.com, 29 Mar. 2026

His mother’s apartment is also filled with American flags. —Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French appartement, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Italian appartamento, borrowed from Spanish apartamiento "withdrawal, remote spot, residence," from apartar "to separate, take aside" (reflexive, "to withdraw") (derivative of aparte "aside, apart entry 1") + -miento -ment

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

Rhymes for apartment

• compartment
• departement
• department

Kids Definition

apartment

noun

apart·​ment ə-ˈpärt-mənt 

1

: a room or set of rooms used as a dwelling

2

: apartment building