Meaning & use
flat sharing
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountableBritish
The practice of living in a flat or apartment with other people, each paying a share of the rent and bills.
Grammar: Uncountable; used to talk about the activity in general: Flat sharing is common in big cities.
Patterns
- flat sharing with someone
- go in for flat sharing
- flat sharing arrangement
Flat sharing can save money, but you need to choose flatmates carefully.
After university, she tried flat sharing for a year before renting her own place.
The website offers advice on flat sharing and tenancy agreements.
Common combinations
- flat sharing with friends
- Flat sharing with friends can be fun but also challenging.
- flat sharing arrangement
- They have a flat sharing arrangement where everyone pays equal rent.
- flat sharing website
- I found my current room through a flat sharing website.
- flat sharing costs
- Flat sharing costs in London are still very high.
Synonyms and how they differ
- house sharing
- House sharing is similar but usually refers to sharing a house rather than a flat.
- roommate living
- Roommate living is the American equivalent, focusing on sharing with roommates.
Opposites
Word family
- flatmate noun
- A person you share a flat with.
- flat-share verb
- To share a flat with others.
Commonly confused: flat sharing or flatmate?
flat sharing vs flatmate
Flatmate is a person; flat sharing is the activity.
Practice
In British English, what do you call the situation of sharing a flat with other people?
Choose one answer.
Flat sharing is the noun for the activity. Flatmate is a person, flat-share is a verb, and apartment is the place itself.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flat sharing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.