Meaning & use
coach house
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableold-fashioned
a small building where a carriage and horses were kept in the past.
Grammar: Countable: say a coach house or the coach houses, e.g. 'They restored an old coach house.'
Patterns
- an old coach house
- convert a coach house
- live in a coach house
The estate still has its original coach house near the main gate.
Visitors can see the horses' stalls inside the coach house.
The coach house was built in 1850 to store carriages.
nouncountable
a house that was originally a coach house, now used as a home.
Grammar: Countable and often used with converted: 'a converted coach house'.
Patterns
- a converted coach house
- buy a coach house
- a coach house conversion
They bought a converted coach house in the countryside.
The coach house has two bedrooms and a small garden.
Coach houses are popular because they are usually quiet and private.
Word forms
| plural | coach houses |
|---|
Common combinations
- a converted coach house
- A converted coach house can be cheaper than a similar-sized house.
- the old coach house
- The old coach house is now a small museum.
- coach house conversion
- The architect specializes in coach house conversions.
- live in a coach house
- They live in a coach house behind the main building.
Synonyms and how they differ
- carriage house
- The usual American term for the same historical building.
- garage
- A modern building for cars; a coach house was for horses and carriages.
Word family
- coachman noun
- a person who drove a horse-drawn carriage
- coach noun
- a large carriage pulled by horses, or a bus
Commonly confused: coach house or coach? coach house or couch house?
coach house vs coach
A coach can be a bus or a carriage, but a coach house is the building where it was kept.
coach house vs couch house
A spelling mistake; couch means a sofa, so it makes no sense here.
Practice
What was a coach house originally used for?
Choose one answer.
A coach house was built to store a horse-drawn carriage and the horses. Teaching is connected to the verb coach, not to the building.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “coach house”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.