dormitory

noun

dor·​mi·​to·​ry ˈdȯr-mə-ˌtȯr-ē 

plural dormitories

1

: a room for sleeping

especially : a large room containing numerous beds

2

: a residence hall providing rooms for individuals or for groups usually without private baths

3

chiefly British : a residential community inhabited chiefly by commuters

Examples of dormitory in a Sentence

Guests at the camp can stay in private cabins or for a smaller fee in the dormitories.

Recent Examples on the Web

When the family and an officer reached the dormitory entrance, a group of people in masks and hoods proceeded to rush out and begin violently attacking the family and others, attorneys said. —Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 26 Dec. 2025

Social media posts report construction worker dormitories for the dam project at Yusong village, downstream of Pei town and Datogka village. —Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 17 Dec. 2025

On Saturday, Weissman, 20, was in her dormitory room when a friend called her to tell her about the shooting. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 15 Dec. 2025

The southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia came under a large Russian drone attack overnight, damaging more than 50 residential buildings, including a university dormitory filled with people, the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, said Wednesday. —Illia Novikov and Sam McNeil The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 27 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin dormitorium, from dormire

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dormitory

• dormitory town

Rhymes for dormitory

• allegory
• amatory
• auditory
• category
• clerestory
• crematory
• desultory
• dilatory
• excretory
• extempore
• feudatory
• gustatory

Kids Definition

dormitory

noun

dor·​mi·​to·​ry ˈdȯr-mə-ˌtōr-ē 

-ˌtȯr-

plural dormitories

1

: a sleeping room especially for several people

2

: a residence hall having many sleeping rooms