apartment
She lives in a small apartment.
mainly US ( UK usually flat ) a set of rooms for living in, especially on one floor of a building
She lives in a small apartment.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
apartment
American English for flat
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
apartment
a‧part‧ment S2 W3 /əˈpɑːtmənt $ -ɑːr-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: French; Origin: appartement, from Italian appartamento, from appartare 'to put aside, separate']
1. especially American English a set of rooms on one floor of a large building, where someone lives SYN flat British English:
She lives in a small apartment.
2. [usually plural] a room or set of rooms used by an important person such as a president:
I had never been in the prince’s private apartments before.
the presidential apartments
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + apartment
▪ a one-bedroom/two-bedroom etc apartment (also one-bedroomed/two-bedroomed apartment British English) A tiny one-bedroom apartment was all she could afford.
▪ a studio apartment (=with just one main room, which you use for sleeping, cooking, and eating) Studio apartments can be a good option for those who want a cheap place in a good location.
▪ a first-floor/second-floor etc apartment We had a fourth-floor apartment, and it was difficult going up and down all those stairs.
▪ a basement apartment (=below the level of the ground) a dark basement apartment
▪ a penthouse apartment (=on the top floor of a building) She bought a penthouse apartment in Santa Monica.
▪ a luxury apartment The school has been converted into luxury apartments.
▪ a furnished/unfurnished apartment (=with or without furniture) a luxurious two-bedroomed unfurnished apartment situated in the heart of town
▪ a holiday apartment British English, a vacation apartment American English We rented a holiday apartment on Mallorca.
■ verbs
▪ live in an apartment He lived in a small apartment on the third floor.
▪ buy/rent an apartment Tom rented an apartment at the top of the building.
▪ share an apartment I’m sharing the apartment with a group of friends.
▪ own an apartment My parents own an apartment in Madrid.
▪ move into/out of an apartment (=start living in a new apartment, or leave an apartment in order to live somewhere else) They moved into the apartment last Easter.
■ NOUN + apartment
▪ an apartment building (also an apartment block British English, apartment house American English) a five-storey apartment block | Our apartment building is the last block on the right, opposite the bank.
▪ an apartment complex (=a group of buildings containing apartments)
• • •
THESAURUS
■ an apartment
▪ apartment especially American English, flat British English a set of rooms where someone lives that is part of a house or bigger building. In British English, people usually say flat. Apartment is used about large and expensive flats, or in advertisements: His apartment is on the eighth floor. | In London, I shared a flat with some other students.
▪ condominium (also condo informal) American English one apartment in a building with several apartments, owned by the people who live in them: a 10-unit condominium complex
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
apartment
apart·ment [apartment apartments] [əˈpɑːtmənt] [əˈpɑːrtmənt] noun
1. (especially NAmE) a set of rooms for living in, usually on one floor of a building
compare condominium, flat
2. a set of rooms used for a holiday/vacation
• self-catering holiday apartments
3. usually plural (BrE) a room in a house, especially a large or famous house
• You can visit the whole palace except for the private apartments.
Word Origin:
mid 17th cent. (denoting a private suite of rooms): from French appartement, from Italian appartamento, from appartare ‘to separate’, from a parte ‘apart’.
Thesaurus:
apartment noun (especially AmE)
• an apartment building
suite • • penthouse • |BrE flat • |especially AmE condominium • |AmE, informal condo •
a luxury apartment/suite/penthouse/flat/condominium/condo
live in a/an apartment/suite/penthouse/flat/condominium/condo
rent a/an apartment/suite/flat
Apartment or flat? The usual word is apartment in American English and flat in British English. If apartment is used in British English it may mean a place that is larger, finer or more expensive than an ordinary flat.
Collocations:
Moving house
Renting
live in a rented/(especially NAmE) rental property
rent/share/move into a furnished house/(BrE) flat/(especially NAmE) apartment
rent a studio/(BrE) a studio flat/(especially NAmE) a studio apartment/(BrE) a bedsit
find/get a housemate/(BrE) a flatmate/(NAmE) a roommate
sign/break the lease/rental agreement/contract
extend/renew/terminate the lease/(BrE) tenancy
afford/pay the rent/the bills/(NAmE) the utilities
(especially BrE) fall behind with/ (especially NAmE) fall behind on the rent
pay/lose/return a damage deposit/(NAmE) security deposit
give/receive a month's/two-weeks' notice to leave/vacate the property
Being a landlord
have a flat/apartment/room (BrE) to let/(especially NAmE) for rent
rent (out)/lease (out)/ (BrE) let (out)/sublet a flat/apartment/house/property
collect/increase/raise the rent
evict the existing tenants
attract/find new/prospective tenants
invest in rental property/(BrE) property to let/(BrE) the buy-to-let market
Buying
buy/acquire/purchase a house/(a) property/(especially NAmE) (a piece of) prime real estate
call/contact/use (BrE) an estate agent/(NAmE) a Realtor™/(NAmE) a real estate agent/broker
make/ (BrE) put in an offer on a house
put down/save for (BrE) a deposit on a house
make/put/save for (especially NAmE) a down payment on a house/home
apply for/arrange/take out a mortgage/home loan
(struggle to) pay the mortgage
make/meet/keep up/cover the monthly mortgage payments/(BrE also) repayments
(BrE) repossess/ (especially NAmE) foreclose on sb's home/house
Selling
put your house/property on the market/up for sale/up for auction
increase/lower your price/the asking price
have/hold/hand over the deed/(especially BrE) deeds of/to the house, land, etc.
Example Bank:
• Apartment dwellers can participate in community gardens.
• Colin lives in a dingy one-room apartment with his pet turtles.
• I share an apartment with two friends.
• I'm looking for an apartment on the east side of the city.
• Larger cities have many high-rise apartments.
• We will be renting the apartment for a year.
• high-rise apartment blocks
• the people who live in the upstairs apartment
• the private apartments of the imperial family
• Finding an apartment in any city can be a difficult task.
• Our self-catering apartments are located just a minute's walk from the beach.
• an apartment building
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
apartment / əˈpɑːt.mənt / / -ˈpɑːrt- / noun
A2 [ C ] mainly US ( UK usually flat ) a set of rooms for living in, especially on one floor of a building:
I'll give you the keys to my apartment.
They have six holiday/luxury apartments for sale.
apartments [ plural ] a set of large rooms with expensive furniture and decoration in, for example, a public building or castle:
The Royal Apartments are open to the public.
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
apartment
/əpɑ:(r)tmənt/
(apartments)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
An apartment is a set of rooms for living in, usually on one floor of a large building. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use flat)
...bleak cities of concrete apartment blocks.
N-COUNT
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
apartment
apart·ment /əˈpɑɚtmənt/ noun, pl -ments [count]
1 chiefly US : a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live
• We lived in an apartment for several years before buying a house.
- compare condominium, flat
2 Brit : a large and impressive room or set of rooms - usually plural
• the Royal apartments
