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cabana

American  
[kuh-ban-uh, -ban-yuh, -bah-nuh, -bahn-yuh] / kəˈbæn ə, -ˈbæn yə, -ˈbɑ nə, -ˈbɑn yə /
Spanish cabaña

noun

  1. a small cabin or tentlike structure for use as a bathhouse, especially on a beach or by a swimming pool.

  2. a cabin or cottage.


cabana British  
/ kəˈbɑːnə /

noun

  1. a tent used as a dressing room by the sea

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cabana

1830–40; < Spanish cabaña; see cabin

Explanation

A cabana is a small, sometimes portable changing room near a swimming pool or beach. You may put your bikini on in a cabana before diving into the cold ocean water. A traditional cabana is a tent that can be moved from one spot to another on the beach. It's a mobile dressing room, where swimmers can dry off and put their clothes on. You can use the word cabana to describe any poolside changing room or building — it comes from the Spanish cabaña, with its Late Latin root capana, "hut" or "cabin."

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Vocabulary lists containing cabana

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.

Oregon chiropractor Joshua Wolfram paid $950 for a cabana for his extended family of nine on the family beach.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

The price covers admission, food and drink and there’s a cabana attendant, making it a good deal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

The idea, he says, emerged from a pool cabana at a Las Vegas legal conference called Mass Torts Made Perfect in fall 2015.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025

The expansive dwelling comes with eight bedrooms, several bathrooms, a resort-style pool, a cabana, a terrace with sweeping views of the hills, and a separate guesthouse.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 1, 2025

He borrowed brief snippets of sleep in the cabana, always awakened by music, or raucous laughter, or fireworks.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman