Meaning & use
chateau
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A large country house or castle in France, often surrounded by land such as gardens or vineyards.
Grammar: The plural is chateaux or chateaus. The accented spelling château is the French original.
Patterns
- a chateau in somewhere
We toured a Renaissance chateau on the Loire.
The chateau had turrets, a moat and a formal garden.
They spent their honeymoon at a small chateau in Burgundy.
nouncountable
A wine-making estate, especially in Bordeaux, or the name used on a bottle of wine it produces.
Grammar: Often capitalized before the estate's name on wine labels: Chateau Margaux.
Patterns
- chateau + name
- a bottle from a chateau
This chateau has been making red wine for two centuries.
The label says the wine was bottled at the chateau.
Each chateau in the region guards its own blend.
Word forms
| plural | chateaux |
|---|---|
| plural (alternative) | chateaus |
Common combinations
- Loire chateau
- Every Loire chateau has a different history.
- medieval chateau
- A medieval chateau stood on the hill above the river.
- chateau-bottled
- The merchant sold only chateau-bottled wines.
- visit a chateau
- We plan to visit a chateau on our trip.
- chateau estate
- The chateau estate covers fifty hectares of vines.
Synonyms and how they differ
- castle
- Castle is the general word for a fortified building, whereas a chateau is specifically French and often more of a stately home than a fortress.
- manor
- Manor is an English term for a large country house, with no association with France or wine.
- mansion
- Mansion simply means a very large house and need not be in the country or old.
- country house
- Country house is the plain English phrase that can describe a chateau without any French flavor.
Word family
- chatelaine noun
- a woman who is the mistress of a large house or castle
- chatelain noun
- the lord or keeper of a castle
Commonly confused: chateau or chalet?
chateau vs chalet
A chalet is a wooden house in a mountain area, often used for holidays, and is much smaller and simpler than a chateau.
Practice
A guide says, 'This chateau produces Bordeaux wine.' What does chateau mean here?
Choose one answer.
In the wine trade a chateau is an estate that makes wine. A wooden mountain hut would be a chalet.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chateau”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.