abode

noun

ə-ˈbōd 

1

: the place where one lives : home

were reluctant to leave their lifelong abode

Welcome to my humble abode.

2

: a temporary stay : sojourn

… if any such dares to continue his abode in a family where his coming was an unauthorized intrusion …

—Walter Scott

3

obsolete : wait, delay

Synonyms of abode

• residence
• dwelling
• house
• home
• lodging
• roof
• place

Examples of abode in a Sentence

welcome to my humble abode

Recent Examples on the Web

Our base of operations was a spacious abode with plenty of room to gather or separate as needed. —Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 25 Jan. 2026

To narrow down the finest ones for a range of abodes, our staffers put several of them to the test within our very own city apartments (that are notorious for being poorly aerated). —Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 23 Jan. 2026

Recently reimagined and updated, the single-story abode offers five bedrooms and six baths across roughly 5,800 square feet with a mix of slate and hardwood floors, plus walls of glass opening to patios overlooking the surrounding treetop views. —Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 21 Jan. 2026

All of the rooms come with fun little amenities, like book collections curated by local tastemakers, and many of the abodes come with sweeping DTLA skyline views. —Krista Simmons, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English abade, abode, from bade, bode "stay, delay" (going back to Old English bād "expectation, period of waiting," probably going back to Germanic *baiđ-, noun derivative from the base of *bīđ- "wait, bide") crossed with abiden "to abide"

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing abode

• no fixed abode
• place of abode

Rhymes for abode

• anode
• barcode
• bestowed
• boatload
• borrowed
• carload
• caseload
• cathode
• commode
• corrode
• crossroad
• decode

Kids Definition

abode

noun

ə-ˈbōd 

: the place where one stays or lives

Legal Definition

abode

past and past participle of abide