Meaning & use
stately house
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Meaning
nouncountableBritish
a large, grand old house, especially one that belongs to an important family and is often open to visitors
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a stately house' or 'many stately houses'.
Patterns
- a stately house
- visit a stately house
- a stately house and gardens
We visited a beautiful stately house in the countryside.
The stately house has been in the same family for centuries.
Many stately houses are now managed by a national trust.
Word forms
| plural | stately houses |
|---|
Common combinations
- a historic stately house
- This historic stately house attracts thousands of tourists.
- visit a stately house
- You can visit a stately house and its gardens on Sundays.
- a stately house and grounds
- The stately house and grounds are open to the public.
- a grand stately house
- They live in a grand stately house near the river.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mansion
- More common in American English and can refer to any very large house, not necessarily an old historic one.
- country house
- Similar in British English, but it emphasizes the location in the countryside rather than the grand style.
- palace
- Usually a home for a king, queen, or other royal person; much grander than a stately house.
Word family
- stately adjective
- Impressive and grand in appearance.
Commonly confused: stately house or state house?
stately house vs state house
In the US, 'state house' means the building where a state government meets. 'Stately house' is a grand home.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'stately house' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Stately house' means a large, grand old house, often open to visitors. It is not small, not a workplace, and not a modern apartment.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stately house”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.