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

Police said that last Thursday morning the two of them argued with Diaz’s fiancée in the couple’s Jackson Heights apartment near 32nd Ave. and 90th St. The couple appears to have recently broken up, prompting a dispute about getting back the 34-year-old victim’s ring. —Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 1 May 2025

In 2008, the death of a fashion designer in a Barcelona apartment would reveal one of the most cold and disturbing crimes in recent Spanish history. —Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 1 May 2025

The apartment was damaged by fire, smoke, and water. —Allison Moses, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025

Locals strolling Hollywood’s Young Circle may have noticed changes afoot within the aging La Piazza complex, a low-slung shopping strip crowned with apartments on Hollywood Boulevard. —Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2025

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

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