bungalow
Americannoun
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bungalows
plural
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a cottage of one story.
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(in India) a one-storied thatched or tiled house, usually surrounded by a veranda.
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(in the U.S.) a derivation of the Indian house type, popular especially during the first quarter of the 20th century, usually having one and a half stories, a widely bracketed gable roof, and a multi-windowed dormer and frequently built of rustic materials.
noun
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a one-storey house, sometimes with an attic
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(in India) a one-storey house, usually surrounded by a veranda
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bungalow
First recorded in 1670–80, bungalow is from the Hindi word banglā literally, of Bengal
Explanation
A bungalow is a little house. If you’re not ready for the three-story house in the suburbs just yet, you might try living in a bungalow. The word bungalow was originally used to describe the temporary houses set up by English sailors traveling to India to work for the East India Company. These little houses were often just one story high with a thatched roof. Nowadays, the word bungalow can be used to describe any one story house. Think of the little cabin you slept in at summer camp — that’s a kind of bungalow.
Vocabulary lists containing bungalow
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"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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"Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began" by Art Spiegelman
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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.
See Examples For:
My family first lived in a small bungalow in Fareham, on the southern coast of England.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
The care is mostly left to Sarah and Robert, who move into David’s bungalow, sleeping on the floor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
A chic bohemian bungalow for her and her three-legged cat Zsa Zsa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Paula Fenton's bungalow in Willenhall, West Midlands, was among several homes damaged when a fire spread through gardens in the street, as firefighters tackled multiple fires in the region on Thursday.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
But when I reach that house, a tidy little bungalow with a cat preening in the window, nobody answers the door.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
All of them — RVs, makeshift shelters, a few shipping containers and one compound of discarded school bungalows — fall within the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Three bungalows in Stonehouse Avenue were severely damaged, with two, including Paula's home, losing their roofs completely.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
These newly wealthy-on-paper buyers are checking out bungalows and high-rise apartments with asking prices around $1.2 million to $1.5 million.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 13, 2026
But unlike Miami where it "arrived as a projection of leisure or spectacle", in Mumbai the "style resonated across various building typologies, including schools, cinemas, bungalows, petrol stations and banks," Mr Kumar said.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2025
After St. Louis, with its noise and activity, its trucks and buses, and loud family gatherings, I welcomed the obscure lanes and lonely bungalows set back deep in dirt yards.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
