apartment

noun

apart·​ment ə-ˈpärt-mənt 

plural apartments

1

: a room or set of rooms fitted especially with housekeeping facilities and usually leased as a dwelling

2

: a building containing several individual apartments

3

British : a large and impressive room or set of rooms

—usually plural

Assured that the Queen and Prince Philip had retired to bed, Mr Hillyard tried to pass through the Royal apartments as the train left Aberdeen on its journey to London.

—Jonathan Petre

apartmental

ə-ˌpärt-ˈmen-tᵊl 

adjective

Synonyms of apartment

• penthouse
• lodgings
• condominium
• suite
• flat
• tenement
• condo

Examples of apartment in a Sentence

We lived in an apartment for several years before buying a house.

a spacious six-room apartment that occupies the entire upper floor of a two-family house

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s Brownie, a stray boa constrictor who was wandering in an apartment complex and Kiki, a shy kinkajou, who was relinquished when his caregiver became ill. —Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Feb. 2026

Forensic evidence and cover-up claims Prosecutors told jurors that McGuire shot her husband inside the couple’s Woodbridge apartment, dismembered his body, and wrapped the remains in black trash bags before placing them into suitcases. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 1 Feb. 2026

Fifty-six days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body—brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed. —Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 1 Feb. 2026

This year, anxiety over the federal government and a wavering stock market is making people less secure in their finances, causing some tenants to move in with family or friends — leaving studio and one-bedroom apartments empty. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French appartement, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Italian appartamento, borrowed from Spanish apartamiento "withdrawal, remote spot, residence," from apartar "to separate, take aside" (reflexive, "to withdraw") (derivative of aparte "aside, apart entry 1") + -miento -ment

First Known Use

circa 1645, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing apartment

• apartment building
• apartment hotel
• duplex apartment
• efficiency apartment
• garden apartment
• in-law apartment
• mother-in-law apartment
• studio apartment

Rhymes for apartment

• compartment
• departement
• department

Kids Definition

apartment

noun

apart·​ment ə-ˈpärt-mənt 

1

: a room or set of rooms used as a dwelling

2

: apartment building