Meaning & use
villa
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Meanings
nouncountable
A large, comfortable house, often in the countryside or by the sea, used as a home or vacation home.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a villa', 'two villas'. Typically used with 'in' or 'by' for location.
Patterns
- a villa in the countryside
- a villa by the sea
- rent a villa
- stay in a villa
They rented a villa in Tuscany for their summer vacation.
The family owns a villa by the sea in the south of France.
The villa has a large garden and a swimming pool.
nouncountable
In ancient Rome, a country house or estate of a wealthy person.
Grammar: Countable, usually in historical contexts.
Patterns
- a Roman villa
- an ancient villa
Archaeologists uncovered a Roman villa with beautiful mosaics.
The ancient villa was the center of a large farming estate.
nouncountableBritish
A house in a suburban area, especially in British English, often part of a row or pair.
Grammar: Common in British English for ordinary suburban houses, not necessarily luxurious.
Patterns
- a semi-detached villa
- a suburban villa
They live in a modest villa in a quiet suburb of Manchester.
The street is lined with Victorian villas.
Word forms
| plural | villas |
|---|
Common combinations
- luxury villa
- They stayed in a luxury villa with a private beach.
- holiday villa
- We booked a holiday villa for two weeks in Spain.
- villa with a pool
- The villa with a pool was perfect for the children.
- rent a villa
- It's cheaper to rent a villa than to stay in a hotel.
- seafront villa
- The seafront villa offers stunning views of the ocean.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mansion
- A mansion is a very large, impressive house, often in a city; a villa is typically more relaxed and may be in the country or by the sea.
- cottage
- A cottage is a small, simple house, often in the countryside; a villa is larger and more comfortable.
- estate
- An estate can mean a large area of land with a big house; a villa is just the house itself.
Word family
- villager noun
- A person who lives in a village, not directly related to villa.
Commonly confused: villa or village?
villa vs village
A village is a small community or settlement, while a villa is a type of house. They are related in origin but mean different things.
Practice
They spent their honeymoon in a beautiful villa _______ the coast of Italy.
Choose one answer.
'On the coast' is the correct phrase for something located along the coast. 'By the coast' is possible but less common; 'in the coast' is wrong because 'in' is used for enclosed areas, and 'at the coast' is not standard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “villa”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.