Meaning & use
dormer
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A small upright section built into a sloping roof, containing a window and its own little roof.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a dormer, two dormers, the dormers.
Patterns
- a dormer window
- a dormer on a roof
- a house with dormers
The old farmhouse had three dormers along the front roof.
They added a dormer to create a bright bedroom in the attic.
Rainwater was leaking around the dormer, so we called a roofer.
Word forms
| plural | dormers |
|---|
Common combinations
- dormer window
- The dormer window lets in morning light.
- dormer roof
- Snow slid off the dormer roof and landed on the path.
- add a dormer
- We decided to add a dormer to make the loft usable.
- gable dormer
- A gable dormer has a pointed roof rather than a curved one.
Synonyms and how they differ
- skylight
- A skylight is a window set directly into the roof slope, not a raised structure with its own roof.
Commonly confused: dormer or dormitory?
dormer vs dormitory
A dormitory is a building or room where many people sleep; a dormer is only the roof window structure.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'dormer' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A dormer is a roof structure with a window, so 'dormer window' fits. 'Dormitory' means a sleeping place, not a dormer; 'dormered' is not a verb; and a dormer is not a painting tool.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dormer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.