Meaning & use
Santa's grotto
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableBritish
A small decorated area in a store or at a Christmas event where children go to meet a person dressed as Santa Claus.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a grotto', 'two grottoes' or 'the grotto'.
Patterns
- visit Santa's grotto
- take someone to Santa's grotto
- at Santa's grotto
Every December the department store opens a Santa's grotto on the top floor.
The children queued for an hour to visit Santa's grotto and get a small gift.
She took her nephew to Santa's grotto in the shopping center.
Word forms
| plural | Santa's grottoes |
|---|
Common combinations
- visit Santa's grotto
- We visited Santa's grotto at the weekend.
- Santa's grotto opens
- Santa's grotto opens on the first of December.
- a queue for Santa's grotto
- There was a long queue for Santa's grotto.
- in Santa's grotto
- The kids had their photo taken in Santa's grotto.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Santa's workshop
- Used more in American English for a similar Christmas display where children meet Santa.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'Santa's grotto' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A Santa's grotto is where children meet a person dressed as Santa, so option A fits. Option B describes a tree lot, C describes a home on Christmas Day, and D describes a church service, not a grotto.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Santa's grotto”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.