Houses and Buildings: English Vocabulary List

a very large and impressive house

"The mansion is grand."

"They toured the mansion and admired its large rooms."

a large structure, such as a tower, placed near the coast and equipped with a powerful light that guides or warns the approaching ships

"The lighthouse warned ships of the dangerous rocks."

"The lighthouse beam swept across the dark sea every ten seconds warning ships away from dangerous rocks."

a modern building that is very tall, often built in a city

"The skyscraper is tall."

"The skyscraper dominates the city skyline."

a large place in which raw materials or produced goods are stored before they are sold or distributed

"The warehouse is large"

"The warehouse is large and stores thousands of products ready for distribution across regions"

an underground storage space or room, typically found in a building, used for storing food, wine, or other items that require a cool and dark environment

"The cellar is dark."

"They stored wine in the cellar."

a simple and small cottage-like building that is built to store things or shelter animals

"Garden shed used."

"We keep gardening tools in the small garden shed behind the house every day."

an overground or underground grave that is large in size and is often made of stone

"The tomb was covered."

"Archaeologists carefully opened the tomb and documented every ancient detail."

the process or action of making a building or a piece of furniture look good again by repairing or painting it

"The renovation took weeks."

"The renovation of the old library took several months but was worth the effort."

the area of a property where the stairs are located

"Dark stairwell needs light."

"The dark stairwell in the old building needs better lighting for safety reasons immediately."

the design of a building that depicts the shape, size, and positioning of rooms and furniture in a structure from above.

"House floor plan shown."

"The architect showed us the detailed house floor plan before starting construction work last month."

the external surface of a building roof

"The rooftop is windy."

"They had a party on the rooftop of the apartment building and enjoyed the beautiful view of the city skyline at sunset."

a channel or passage that lets the smoke from a fire pass through and get out from the roof of a building

"Smoke came from the chimney."

"Santa Claus supposedly enters houses through the chimney but in modern homes chimneys are often too narrow for a grown adult to fit through."

the way a room or building's interior is decorated

"Beautiful room decor."

"The beautiful room decor created a warm and welcoming atmosphere for all guests last night."

(of a room, house, etc.) large with a lot of space inside

"The lobby is spacious."

"The spacious living room could comfortably accommodate fifty guests for the holiday party every year."

(of a house, room, seat, etc.) empty or unoccupied and available to be used

"The apartment is vacant."

"The vacant apartment has been empty for months and the landlord is desperate to find a tenant who will rent it."

(of a building, car, etc.) left and not needed or used anymore

"The house is abandoned."

"The abandoned house on the corner has been empty for years and the yard is overgrown with weeds."

a person who plans and designs the interior of spaces by selecting colors, furniture, fabrics, and other decorative elements

"The decorator painted walls."

"The interior decorator chose neutral wall colors and added colorful pillows for contrast."

a structure offering protection and privacy from danger

"Find shelter from rain."

"The makeshift shelter provided essential protection from the harsh elements for the stranded travelers during the blizzard."

a structure or a place that is historically important

"The Colosseum is Rome's most famous landmark."

"The Eiffel Tower is the most famous landmark in Paris and is visited by millions of tourists every single year."

a building or the piece of land surrounding it, owned by individuals, businesses, or entities

"The property is expensive."

"They bought property near the river."

a vertical structural element, often made of stone, that supports the weight of the building above it

"The column was tall."

"The ancient temple featured a majestic doric column that had stood for centuries, supporting the ornate entablature."

anything that is built from several parts, such as a house, bridge, etc.

"Look at the structure."

"The ancient Roman aqueduct is a remarkable structure that has stood for centuries."

to build a house, bridge, machine, etc.

"The workers construct the new bridge."

"The workers need to construct a solid foundation before they can begin building the walls of the new house."

a hard material used for building structures, made by mixing cement, water, sand, and small stones

"The sidewalk is made of concrete."

"Reinforced concrete is a composite material where steel bars are embedded to significantly improve its tensile strength"

located on the outer surface of a particular thing

"The exterior is painted."

"The exterior of the building is painted white but the inside walls are a warm shade of beige and cream."

located on the inside part of a particular thing

"The interior is dark."

"The interior of the church is beautiful with high ceilings stained glass windows and wooden pews for the congregation to sit on."

a narrow passage in a theater, train, aircraft, etc. that separates rows of seats

"Sit in the aisle."

"He quickly walked down the aisle to reach his assigned seat before the plane departed."

(of an area with buildings) designed specially for people to live in

"This is a residential area."

"The residential neighborhood is quiet and safe with many families and children playing outside in the yards on sunny afternoons."

(of a room, house, etc.) large with a lot of space inside

"The living room is spacious."

"The living room is spacious and can easily fit a large sofa and several armchairs."

a pipe in the bottom of a sink, bath, etc. through which dirty water flows out

"The drain is blocked."

"The drain in the shower was clogged with hair and soap scum causing water to pool around his feet while he bathed."

(of a construction) to fall down suddenly, particularly due to being damaged or weak

"The bridge will collapse."

"Due to extensive structural damage, the old building was expected to collapse imminently."