Meaning & use
arbour
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A shady spot in a garden, made from a frame of wood or wire with climbing plants growing over it.
Grammar: Countable: they built an arbour at the end of the garden.
Patterns
- an arbour of roses
- sit in the arbour
We had tea in the arbour, shaded from the afternoon sun.
Grandfather built a wooden arbour and trained a grapevine over it.
A rose-covered arbour stood at the end of the path.
nouncountableliterary
A quiet, leafy place formed by overhanging branches or foliage, where people can rest.
Grammar: Often poetic: a green arbour beside the stream.
Patterns
- an arbour of branches
- a leafy arbour
The willows bent to form a green arbour over the stream.
They found a quiet arbour of ivy and rested there.
In the poem, lovers meet in a secret arbour.
Word forms
| plural | arbours |
|---|
Common combinations
- rose arbour
- The rose arbour was full of pink blooms in June.
- shady arbour
- They read their books in the shady arbour.
- vine-covered arbour
- A vine-covered arbour kept the patio cool.
- garden arbour
- A garden arbour makes a charming entrance to the vegetable plot.
- wooden arbour
- The wooden arbour needed a fresh coat of paint.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bower
- Bower is more poetic and suggests a leafy shelter in a story or poem, while arbour is the usual garden word.
- pergola
- A pergola is a larger frame of posts and crossbeams, often over a patio, while an arbour is usually smaller and sits in a garden as a seat or archway.
- gazebo
- A gazebo is a freestanding roofed building with open sides, whereas an arbour is mostly open and supported by plants.
- trellis
- A trellis is just the lattice frame for climbers, not a sheltered place to sit.
Word family
Commonly confused: arbour or harbour? arbour or arbor?
arbour vs harbour
A harbour is a sheltered stretch of water where boats stay; an arbour is a leafy garden shelter, and the words differ by one letter.
arbour vs arbor
Arbor is the same word in American spelling, but Arbor Day and 'arbor' in machine parts are different uses.
Practice
Which place would you most likely call an arbour?
Choose one answer.
An arbour is a shady garden shelter formed by climbing plants on a frame. A boat dock suits harbour, which is the word that sounds similar, so it is the tempting wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “arbour”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.