noun

dormitory

DAW-mih-tree

noun

A large room or building with many beds, used for communal sleeping, especially by students.

"She spent her first year of university living in a noisy dormitory."

"The hostel dormitory slept up to twelve backpackers a night."

A suburb or town whose residents mostly commute elsewhere for work.

"The village had become little more than a dormitory town for commuters into the city."

How to Use Dormitory

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA shared sleeping space, usually in a school, hostel, or college — or, for a town, a place people just sleep in and commute from.

UK vs US

In the US, "dorm" almost always means individual college housing; in the UK, "dormitory" can also describe a whole town built mainly for commuters.

Common pairings

dormitory town shared dormitory school dormitory

dormitories plural

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She spent her first year of university living in a noisy _____.

From Latin dormitorium, "a sleeping room," from dormire, "to sleep."

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