Dormitory

//ˈdɔː.mɪ.tɹi// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A room containing a number of beds (and often some other furniture and/or utilities) for sleeping, often applied to student and backpacker accommodation of this kind.

    "She will be much more likely to meet his wishes after a residence at the castle, than an imprisonment on short commons in her dormitory in Welbeck Street; for in one case she only learnt how much she could endure, in the other she will find how much she can enjoy."

  2. 2
    a college or university building containing living quarters for students wordnet
  3. 3
    A building or part of a building which houses students, soldiers, monks etc. who sleep there and use communal further facilities.
  4. 4
    a large sleeping room containing several beds wordnet
  5. 5
    A dormitory town.

Synonyms

All synonyms
dormdormbedchamberbedroomboardinghouseboudoir

Example

More examples

"You will soon adjust to living in a dormitory."

Etymology

From Middle English dormitory, dormytory, dormytorye, borrowed from Latin dormītōrium (“a sleeping-room”), from dormiō (“to sleep”). Doublet of dormitorium and dorter.

Related phrases

all girlsat collegecollege housingcollege livingcollege residencecollege roomcollege roomscollege sleepercollege sleepingcollege studentsdormitory townfor sleeping

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.