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

For ultimate privacy with all the Les Airelles trimmings, the hotel has brought three impossibly luxe chalets into the fold, each swallowing up to 15 guests for weeks of high-altitude hedonism. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 June 2026

The 16 restaurants selected for 2026 range from beach clubs and fashion-house dining rooms to mountain chalets, high-rise cocktail bars, and historic landmarks. —Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026

Vibes here lean classic ski chalet, complete with lush throw blankets, a fireplace, and a chef’s kitchen for grazing and cooking. —Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 31 May 2026

Three months later, the royal family was on Easter holiday at their private chalet in the mountains of Jotunheimen when the Queen had to be airlifted to the hospital once again after experiencing shortness of breath. —Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 27 May 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
• assez
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway

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