room-mate
Definition
- Noun:
- A person who shares a room or living space: "room-mate" refers to an individual who occupies the same room or apartment as another person, typically in a shared housing arrangement such as a dormitory, flat, or house.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- My room-mate and I divide the rent equally each month. (The person sharing the same room or apartment.)
- She became close friends with her college room-mate. (The person with whom she shared a dormitory room.)
Advanced Usage
"to have a room-mate": to share a living space with another person.
- I prefer to have a room-mate to reduce living costs. (Sharing a room with someone to save money.)
"a compatible room-mate": a room-mate with whom one gets along well.
- Finding a compatible room-mate is important for a peaceful home environment. (A room-mate who is easy to live with.)
Variants and Related Words
Roommate (n): alternative spelling (more common in American English).
- My new roommate is very tidy. (The person sharing my room.)
Room-mate (n): hyphenated spelling (more common in British English).
- The room-mate agreement outlines rules for cleaning. (The document governing shared living.)
Flatmate (n): a person sharing a flat or apartment (synonym, especially in British English).
- My flatmate works from home. (The person sharing my flat.)
Housemate (n): a person sharing a house.
- The housemates decided to throw a party. (The people living together in a house.)
Synonyms
- Co-tenant: a person who jointly rents a property with another.
- Sharemate: a person who shares a living space (less common).
Related Idioms
"to be room-mates with someone": to live in the same room as another person.
- They were room-mates during their first year of university. (They shared a dormitory room.)
"a room-mate from hell": a very difficult or unpleasant room-mate.
- My old room-mate was a room-mate from hell — he never cleaned. (A very troublesome room-mate.)