Meaning & use
anterooms
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“anterooms” is a form of “anteroom”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nouncountable
Small rooms that lead into a larger or more important room, often used as waiting areas.
Grammar: Countable noun; use a/an or a number before the singular, and the plural anterooms for more than one.
Patterns
- anterooms to something
- in the anterooms
Guests waited in the anterooms before being called into the ballroom.
The palace has several anterooms decorated with old portraits.
We were asked to leave our coats in one of the anterooms.
Word forms
| singular | anteroom |
|---|
Common combinations
- a small anteroom
- A small anteroom connected the office to the main hall.
- wait in the anteroom
- Please wait in the anteroom until the doctor is ready.
- lead into an anteroom
- The corridor leads into an anteroom filled with chairs.
- the palace anterooms
- Tourists are not allowed into the private palace anterooms.
Synonyms and how they differ
- antechamber
- More formal and often used for grand historical buildings; anteroom is the more everyday term.
- waiting room
- Focuses on the function of waiting rather than the position before a larger room.
- foyer
- An entrance hall, not necessarily a room leading to another room.
Word family
- ante- prefix
- Meaning 'before', as in anteroom or antebellum.
Commonly confused: anterooms or antechamber?
anterooms vs antechamber
A near-synonym, but antechamber is more formal and usually suggests a grand or historical setting.
Practice
Guests were asked to gather in the ______ before the ceremony began.
Choose one answer.
The singular 'anteroom' is needed after 'the' for one room. 'Anterooms' would be plural, but the context suggests a single gathering place; 'anteroom's' is possessive and 'anterooming' is not a word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “anterooms”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.