cohabit
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to live together as if married, usually without legal or religious sanction.
-
to live together in an intimate relationship.
-
to dwell with another or share the same place, as different species of animals.
verb
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Other Word Forms
- cohabitant noun
- cohabitation noun
- cohabitee noun
- cohabiter noun
- noncohabitation noun
Etymology
Origin of cohabit
1520–30; < Late Latin cohabitāre, equivalent to co- co- + habitāre to have possession, abide (frequentative of habēre to have, own)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Had I not just cohabited with “Ulysses” for the last month, I no doubt would have spent the intermission reading chapter summaries on my phone to get a deeper understanding of the story.
From Los Angeles Times
Data show “nontraditional” families — those made up of single parents, single adults, cohabiting couples and stepfamilies — now outnumber “traditional” nuclear families in the United States.
From Los Angeles Times
He testified that the couple had been married for 20 years and were cohabiting “under the same roof” but were living separate lives then and dating other people.
From Los Angeles Times
Last year, UK law changed to afford cohabiting couples the same right.
From BBC
"It almost felt like a pressure to go back into cohabiting after having had my own space. That almost felt like stepping into something new and unknown again."
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.