Meaning & use
huts
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“huts” is a form of “hut”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Small, simple buildings with usually one room, often made of wood, grass, or metal.
Grammar: This is the plural form; the singular is hut, and it is a countable noun, so you say a hut or two huts.
Patterns
- a row of huts
- wooden huts
- beach huts
- mountain huts
The village children ran between the low wooden huts.
We rented one of the blue beach huts for the afternoon.
The hikers slept in a mountain hut with no electricity.
nounplural
Very small, plain houses or shelters where people live in difficult conditions.
Grammar: Often used when talking about poor housing or temporary shelter; the singular hut works the same way.
Patterns
- live in huts
- tin huts
- refugee huts
Families were still living in tin huts after the storm.
The workers' huts had no running water.
Aid groups built simple huts for the displaced families.
Word forms
| singular | hut |
|---|
Common combinations
- a row of huts
- A row of huts stood along the edge of the field.
- wooden huts
- The camp was made of wooden huts with tin roofs.
- beach huts
- Brightly painted beach huts line the seafront in summer.
- mountain huts
- Mountain huts give walkers a dry place to sleep.
- tin huts
- The old tin huts were freezing in winter.
- thatched huts
- The village is known for its round thatched huts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shacks
- Shacks are also small and simple, but they suggest something built quickly and in poor condition, so they sound more negative than huts.
- cabins
- Cabins are small wooden buildings too, but they are usually better built and often used for holidays or living on a farm.
- shelters
- Shelters are places that protect you from weather or danger; they may be simple, but they do not have to be buildings.
Opposites
Word family
- hut noun
- The singular form: a small, simple building.
Commonly confused: huts or hut? huts or hat?
huts vs hut
Hut is the singular and huts is the plural, so use a hut for one building and huts for two or more.
huts vs hat
Hat is a piece of clothing you wear on your head; the vowel sound is different, so hut and hat are not the same word.
Practice
Which sentence uses huts correctly?
Choose one answer.
Huts is plural, so it fits after a plural number like three. Option A needs the singular a hut, option C confuses huts with hats, and option D needs a hut with is.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “huts”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.