bungalow
Americannoun
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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
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
There's No Word Like Home
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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.
In 2018, the Coyles bought a plot in the village of Edwyn Ralph which had planning permission for a 5-bed bungalow.
From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026
Farr, 56, purchased the four-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom property in 2011 when she and her then-husband, Seung Yong Chung, realized the Spanish bungalow they had been living in could no longer accommodate their rapidly expanding brood.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026
Arlene's empty bungalow in Elgin, in the north of Scotland, was compared to the Mary Celeste.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026
The bungalow is outfitted with a dishwasher and washer and dryer; Adams pays $2,340 in rent including utilities.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026
He found the house, a weather beaten cardboard bungalow at eighty a month, but at the last minute the firm ordered him to Washington and I went out to the country alone.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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.
