courtyard

noun

court·​yard ˈkȯrt-ˌyärd 

: a court or enclosure adjacent to a building (such as a house or palace)

Synonyms of courtyard

• patio
• quadrangle
• enclosure
• yard

Examples of courtyard in a Sentence

The apartment overlooks a courtyard.

a series of lunchtime concerts in the museum's open-air courtyard

Recent Examples on the Web

On Monday, in the early morning, cheerleaders flanked the entrance to the courtyard, cheering and shaking their pom-poms as their classmates filed in, showing varying degrees of enthusiasm. — Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2026

The building encloses an acre of private landscaped courtyard, which the apartment’s airy living area overlooks. — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 10 Aug. 2026

People walk by a giant Spiderman inflatable installation at the south courtyard plaza of Shuncheng Shopping Center on August 2, 2026 in Kunming, Yunnan province, China. — Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026

Happily, this month’s guide to where to eat in London has plenty of them, including one of the city’s most ambitious tasting menus, a breakfast of champions, excellent neighborhood tapas and a City courtyard made for stretching out summer. — Lela London, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1552, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for courtyard

• asgard
• backyard
• barnyard
• blackguard
• bombard
• brickyard
• canard
• churchyard
• coastguard
• debarred
• diehard
• disbarred

Kids Definition

courtyard

noun

court·​yard -ˌyärd 

: a court or enclosure next to a building