Meaning & use
fraternity home
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A house where members of a college fraternity live together, or a residential institution run by a fraternal organization.
Grammar: Countable: one fraternity home, two fraternity homes. Often written with 'the' when the building is already known.
Patterns
- live in a fraternity home
- the fraternity home on campus
He moved into the fraternity home at the start of his sophomore year.
The old fraternity home near the stadium was renovated last summer.
Several alumni donated money to repair the fraternity home.
nouncountableformal
A care residence for elderly people or children that is owned or supported by a fraternal society.
Grammar: Countable and often used with a name: the Masonic fraternity home.
Patterns
- a fraternity home for elderly people
- stay at a fraternity home
Her grandfather spent his last years in a fraternity home run by a local lodge.
The fraternity home provides meals and medical care for its residents.
Word forms
| plural | fraternity homes |
|---|
Common combinations
- live in a fraternity home
- Only juniors and seniors are allowed to live in a fraternity home.
- the fraternity home on campus
- The fraternity home on campus is the oldest building still in use.
- a fraternity home for the elderly
- They visited a fraternity home for the elderly every Thanksgiving.
- move into a fraternity home
- She moved into a fraternity home to save money on rent.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fraternity house
- The normal American term for a college fraternity's residential building; 'fraternity home' sounds more formal and is less common.
- chapter house
- A more general term used by some fraternal organizations for their local meeting and living building.
Word family
- fraternity noun
- A social organization of male students at a college, or a group of people with the same interest.
- fraternal adjective
- Relating to brothers or to a friendly organization.
- sorority home noun
- The equivalent residence for a women's college society.
Commonly confused: fraternity home or fraternity house?
fraternity home vs fraternity house
This is the usual phrase for a college fraternity's building; 'fraternity home' is more often used for a charitable residence.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'fraternity home' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
'Fraternity home' is a noun phrase, so it works as the subject or object of a sentence: 'The fraternity home on campus...' Option A confuses the building with the organization you join; C and D wrongly use the phrase as a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fraternity home”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.