Definition of pavilion
1 a
: a large often sumptuous tent
- the white pavilions of the Turkish irregular cavalry
- —A. H. Layard
b
: something resembling a canopy or tent
- tree ferns spread their delicate pavilions
- —Blanche E. Baughan
2 a
: a part of a building projecting from the rest
- … rang the bell of the little pavilion …
- —Gertrude Stein
b
: one of several detached or semidetached units into which a building is sometimes divided
3 a
: a usually open sometimes ornamental structure in a garden, park, or place of recreation that is used for entertainment or shelter
- a dance pavilion
- a band pavilion
b
: a temporary structure erected at an exposition by an individual exhibitor
- visited the Chinese pavilion at the international exposition
4
: the lower faceted part of a brilliant below the girdle (see 1girdle 2) — see brilliant illustration
