chalet

noun

cha·​let sha-ˈlā 

ˈsha-(ˌ)lā

1

: a remote herdsman's hut in the Alps

2

a

: a Swiss dwelling with unconcealed structural members and a wide overhang at the front and sides

b

: a cottage or house in chalet style

Illustration of chalet

• chalet 2a

Synonyms of chalet

• cottage
• cabin

Examples of chalet in a Sentence

We stayed overnight at a ski chalet.

a mountain chalet for weekend getaways

Recent Examples on the Web

Snow settles and wooden chalets suspend in time. —Victoria Bousis, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2026

In addition to the compact but well-appointed cabins, there were private villas, wooden chalets, and floating bungalows available to rent for a unique, unplugged vacation. —Noelann Bourgade, Architectural Digest, 9 Mar. 2026

The mountain chalet lodging reflects the property's historic roots with a modern-day spin. —Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 4 Mar. 2026

Rosewood just officially opened its first winter resort in the French Alps, a chic chalet nestled in the Jardin Alpin neighborhood of the exclusive Courchevel 1850 village. —Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 27 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, borrowed from Franco-Provençal of Switzerland (and adjacent Alpine regions of France and Italy) tsalẹ̀, tchalè "cabin in upland summer pastures used as a residence and for processing milk into butter and cheese, pasture in the vicinity of such a structure," from tsal-, tchal-, stem probably meaning "shelter" seen as an underived noun in Old Occitan cala "cove, inlet" (also in Spanish & Catalan, and as a loanword from Spanish in Italian & Portuguese, probably a borrowing from a western Mediterranean substratal language) + -ẹ̀, -è -et entry 1

Note: A display of the variants found in Franco-Provençal of Switzerland can be seen in Glossaire des patois de la Suisse romande (tome 3, p. 270). The word occurs as chaletus in Latin documents from present-day Vaud canton beginning in the fourteenth century. As chalet the word is first attested in metropolitan French in 1723; it received wide circulation through its use in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's novel Julie ou la Nouvelle Héloïse (1761).

First Known Use

1782, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for chalet

• airway
• allay
• archway
• array
• ashtray
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway
• beret

Kids Definition

chalet

noun

cha·​let sha-ˈlā 

ˈshal-ˌā

1

: a herdsman's hut in the Alps away from a town or village

2

a

: a Swiss dwelling with a roof that sticks far out past the walls

b

: a cottage built to look like a chalet