foyer
Americannoun
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the lobby of a theater, hotel, or apartment house.
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a vestibule or entrance hall in a house or apartment.
noun
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a hall, lobby, or anteroom, used for reception and as a meeting place, as in a hotel, theatre, cinema, etc
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(in Britain) a centre providing accommodation and employment training, etc. for homeless young people
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of foyer
1855–60; < French: fireplace, hearth (originally a room to which theater audiences went for warmth between the acts) < Gallo-Latin *focārium, equivalent to Latin foc ( us ) hearth ( cf. focus) + -ārium -arium
Explanation
A foyer is a large entrance, like the foyer of a building that you enter before you reach the elevators. Sometimes a foyer is also called a "lobby." Foyer originally was a term in French that referred to the room where actors waited when they were not on stage. Today, a foyer is a large entrance to a building or home. The bigger and fancier a mansion, office or apartment building is, the bigger and more ornate the foyer will likely be. After all, the foyer will be the first room that visitors see when entering.
Vocabulary lists containing foyer
The Catcher in the Rye
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10 Words that Inspired Taylor Swift
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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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.
The 300-year-old building was converted into an 82-seat theatre, with surrounding corridors used to create a foyer and backstage area.
From BBC • Jun. 16, 2026
Latecomers squeezed into makeshift rows of plastic folding chairs or stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the foyer, peering through glass doors.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
Designer Lara Hovanessian has transformed the foyer walls of both the first and second floors into a striking display for local artists Blakeney, Susanna Speirs Ali and Lareina Holsopple.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
“Public rooms on the main level include a living room, grand entrance foyer, formal dining room, wood paneled library, and areas perfect for staff or home office,” reveals the listing.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026
I kiss him while I root in my pocket for my keys, and I kiss him in the doorway, and I kiss him in our foyer.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
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.
