Thematic Vocabulary Unit NÂș 24 Version 07
Main Definitions
- building 1 |n| a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place.
- building 2 |n| a structure such a house, office block or factory that has a roof and four walls.
- block |n| |UK| a tall building that contains flats of offices; a building that forms part of a school, hospital, etc. and is used for particular purpose.
- "A block of flats."
- "The school's science block."
- property |n| a building or buildings and the surrounding land, land and buildings.
- "We have a buyer who would like to view the property."
- "The price of property has risen enormously."
- structure |n| a thing that is made of several parts, especially a building.
- "The pier is a wooden structure."
Groups of Buildings
- complex |n| a group of buildings of similar type together in one place.
- "A leisure complex."
- develoment |n| a group of new buildings that have all been planned and built together on the same piece of land.
- "A new housing development."
- "A huge industrial development."
- premises |n| |pl| the building or buildings and land that a business owns or uses.
- "The company is looking for larger premises."
Kinds of Buildings
- edifice |n| |formal| a large building, especially one that is tall and impressive.
- "Their head office was an imposing edifice."
- tower |n| a very tall building.
- "My next lecture is in the science block."
- skyscraper |n| a very tall building that contain offices or places to live.
- "The skyscraper towered over the surrounded by towering skyscrapers."
Buldings for Specific Uses
- block |n| |UK| a tall building that contains flats or offices; a building that forms part of a school, hospital, etc. and is used for a particular purpose.
- "The school's science block."
- block of flats |UK| / apartment building / apartment block |UK| / apartent house |US| |n| a large building that is divided into apartments.
- "A block of flats."
- facility |US| |n| a place or bulding used for a particular activity or industry.
- "A research facility on campus."
Flats
- apartment 1 |US| |n| a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house.
- apartment 2 |UK| |n| in British English, apartment is used about large and expensve flats, or in advertisements.
- "His apartment is on the eighth floor."
- condominium |n| |US| |inf| one apartment in a building with several apartments, owned by the people who live in them.
- "10-unit condominium."
- condo |inf| |n| short for condominium.
- "A high-rise condo."
- "Luxury Survival Condos."
- flat 1 |n| |UK| a set of rooms where someone lives that is part of a house or biggerbuilding.
- flat 2 |n| |UK| a set of rooms for living in, especially on one floor of a building.
- penthouse apartment |n| an apartment on the top of a building usually with wide balconies.
Building Levels
- floor |n| one of the levels in a building.
- "Our office in on the top floor."
- floor |UK| |n| in British English the floor of a building at street level is the ground floor, the one above is the first floor and the one below it is the basement, or lower ground floor in a public building.
- ground floor |n| the floor at street level in public buildings.
- street level / ground / land / earth |n| these are all words for the surface that you walk on.
- ground |n| is the normal word for the solid surface that you walk on when you are not in a building or vehicle.
- basement / cellar |n| the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage.
- "They cleared out the cellar and transformed it into a lovely playroom for the kids."
- roof |n| the structure forming the upper covering of a building.
- "The hotel has a charming roof garden."
Parts of the Building
- balcony |n| a platform enclosed by a wall or balustrade on the outside of a building.
- "Has your flat got a balcony?"
- basement/cellar/vault |n| the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage.
- elevator |n| a machine that carries people or goods up and down to different levels in a building.
- "It's on the fifth floor, so we'd better take the elevator."
- garage / depot |n| a part of a building for housing automobiles.
- "A house with an attached garage."
- hall / entrance hall / foyer / lobby |n| a large entrance or reception room or area.
- laundry room |n| a room where clothes are washed and dried, with large appliances.
- "We have a great laundry room, well-designed, organized, and in the perfect location."
- "There's a washing machine in the landry room."
- rooftop |n| the outer surface of a building's roof.
- "Hundreds of people are still waiting to be rescued from the rooftops of homes and buildings."
- stairs |n| a set of steps built between two floors inside a building.
People
- janitor / building manager |n| someone employed to clean and maintain a building.
- doorman |n| a man who is on duty at the entrance to a large building.
- caretaker |n| a person whose job is to take care of a building such as a school or a block of flats or an apartment building.
- flatmate |UK| |n| a person who share a flat/apartment with one or more others.
- neighbour |n| a person living. near or next door to the speaker or person referred to.
- "Our garden was the envy of the neighbors."