Meaning & use
palace
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Meanings
nouncountable
A very large, grand house where a king, queen, or other ruler lives.
Grammar: Countable: a palace, the palace, two palaces. Often used with 'the' when talking about a particular royal home.
Patterns
- at the palace
- the royal palace
- a palace in <place>
The queen greeted the guests at the palace.
They visited the old royal palace during their trip to Madrid.
The palace has more than two hundred rooms and a huge garden.
nouncountable
The large official home of a president, bishop, or other high-ranking leader.
Grammar: Used with a possessive or 'the': the bishop's palace, the presidential palace.
Patterns
- the presidential palace
- the bishop's palace
Protesters gathered outside the presidential palace.
The bishop lives in a modest house rather than the palace next to the cathedral.
nouncountableinformal
A very large, impressive building used for entertainment or business.
Grammar: Often used slightly humorously or in names: a movie palace, a palace of shopping.
Patterns
- a palace of <noun>
- a movie palace
The old movie palace on Main Street has been restored to its former glory.
Their new office is a glass palace with a gym and three cafés.
Word forms
| plural | palaces |
|---|
Common combinations
- royal palace
- Crowds lined the streets near the royal palace.
- presidential palace
- The president made the announcement from the presidential palace.
- palace gates
- Fans waited at the palace gates for a glimpse of the royal family.
- at the palace
- A state dinner was held at the palace last night.
- palace guard
- The palace guard stood motionless in their red uniforms.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- palatial adjective
- Extremely large and luxurious, like a palace.
Commonly confused: palace or palate? palace or palette?
palace vs palate
Palate is the top of your mouth or your sense of taste, as in 'a refined palate'. Palace is the building.
palace vs palette
Palette is a board for mixing paint or a range of colors. It sounds the same as palace in some accents but has a completely different meaning.
Practice
The king and queen live in a huge ______ near the river.
Choose one answer.
A palace is the grand home of a king or queen. 'Palate' is part of the mouth, 'palette' is for mixing paint, and 'pallet' is a flat wooden platform for moving goods.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “palace”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.