Definition

1. Noun:
   • A large room for sleeping that contains many beds: A dormitory is a room designed to accommodate multiple people for sleeping, typically with beds arranged in a shared space.
   • A building at a college or university providing rooms for students to live in: A dormitory is a residential building on a campus where students have their own rooms or share rooms, often with common facilities.

Usage and Examples

• As a room:

  • The summer camp had a large dormitory for all the campers.
  • The hostel's dormitory contained twelve bunk beds.

• As a building:

  • Most first-year students live in a dormitory on campus.
  • She moved into her new dormitory at the beginning of the semester.

Advanced Usage

• "Dormitory town" (or "bedroom community"): A suburban residential area whose residents commute to a nearby city for work.
  • He lives in a quiet dormitory town just outside the capital.

Variants and Related Words

• Dorm (n): A common, informal shortening of "dormitory."

  • I'll meet you back at the dorm after class.

• Dormitory-style (adj): Describing an arrangement or accommodation that involves shared sleeping quarters.

  • The retreat offered dormitory-style lodging in cabins.

Synonyms

• Hall of residence (chiefly British English): A university building for student accommodation.
• Barracks: A building or group of buildings used to house soldiers, especially emphasizing the communal living aspect.
• Hostel: An inexpensive lodging place, often with shared rooms.

Related Phrases

• Live in a dormitory: To reside in student housing on a campus.
  • I prefer to live in a dormitory to be closer to my classes and friends.

Idioms

(No common idioms are directly formed with the word "dormitory.")

Noun

1. a large sleeping room containing several beds
2. a college or university building containing living quarters for students