day room

American  

Or dayroom

noun

1. a room at an institution, as on a military base, providing facilities for leisure activities.

2. (in a hospital) a recreation room for ambulatory patients.

---

day room British  

noun

1. a communal living room in a residential institution such as a hospital

---

Etymology

Origin of day room

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

"They'd written observations of Winbourne being in the day room, sitting there eating his breakfast, and this was three days after he'd passed away," says Carole.

From BBC • Jun. 18, 2025

I was sitting in the prison day room, and when the world news came on and popped up talking about this Supreme Court landmark case, Graham v.

From Slate • Mar. 19, 2024

Inspectors who took a tour of Central post-transfer found playing cards at the table in the day room — evidence, they said, of a hastily orchestrated departure.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 30, 2022

Perhaps the world’s least calming yoga studio, David-Jeremiah’s installation at CulturalDC’s pop-up space is modeled on a prison day room.

From Washington Post • Aug. 19, 2022

We got to eat good, we went to movies, the day room was cool.

From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers