An apartment (American English) is a self-contained housing unit that occupies part of a building, typically with its own entrance and private living spaces. It is rented or owned within a multi-unit structure. The term can also refer to a suite or set of rooms designed for residential use, often with shared building facilities.
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"We found a sunny one-bedroom apartment downtown."
"The rent includes water and heating for the apartment."
"Her apartment is on the third floor with a balcony."
"They renovated the apartment to maximize space and efficiency."
Apartment comes from the French appartement, which originally described a division or private room within a larger house. The Middle French term derives from partir, meaning to part or divide. In English, appartement appeared in the 17th century and carried the sense of a subdivided part of a grand house or residence. By the 19th century, the meaning shifted toward a self-contained living space within a building, especially in urban settings, as multi-unit housing became common. The modern sense of a rented or owned private unit within a larger structure emerged with urban development and patterns of city housing. First known use in English traces to formal or aristocratic contexts before broad adoption in everyday language for rental units in apartment buildings.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "apartment" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "apartment" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "apartment"
-ent sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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US: /əˈpɑːrt.mənt/; UK: /əˈpɑːt.mənt/; AU: /əˈpɑːt.mənt/. The stress falls on the second syllable (PART), with a clear /ɑː/ vowel in that syllable. The final /ment/ is reduced to /mənt/ in fluent speech. Mouth positions: begin with a neutral schwa, open the jaw for /ˈpɑːrt/, then glide to /mənt/. For clarity, ensure the first syllable is unstressed, the second syllable carries the main emphasis, and the final syllable is lightly pronounced.
Typical errors include: 1) Over-weakening the second syllable so it sounds like /əˈpær.tənt/ instead of /əˈpɑːrt.mənt/. 2) Merging /rt/ with the following /m/ into /rˌt.m/ or dropping the /t/ in fast speech, leading to /əˈpɑːrmənt/. Correction: keep a crisp /rt/ cluster and pronounce the /t/ before the final /mənt/. 3) Not releasing the final /n/ as a separate consonant, effectively making it /mənt/ more like /mənt/. Practice: enunciate /t/ and clearly articulate the /ə/ in the final syllable; use short pauses between /rt/ and /mənt/ to maintain rhythm.
US: rhotacized /ɑːrt/ with a longer /r/ and fuller /æ/ often reduced to /ɑː/; final syllable /mənt/ is clear. UK: non-rhotic: /əˈpɑːt.mənt/, with a shorter /r/ and tighter vowel in /ɑː/. AU: /əˈpɑːt.mənt/, similar to UK but with Australian vowel shifts; you may hear a slightly higher tongue position for /ɐ/ in unstressed vowels. Overall: vowel length and rhoticity differ; see /r/ presence and vowel quality changes across regions.
The difficulty centers on the /pɑːrt/ cluster followed by /mənt/ and the post-stress vowel reduction. Many learners hesitate at the /rt/ sequence, and fast speech can blur /rt/ into a single sound. Additionally, the final /ə/ in /mənt/ can reduce to a schwa, affecting rhythm. Focus on sustaining the /t/ and keeping /m/ distinct from /n/ in the final syllable; practice slow, then gradual speed until fluid.
Is the second syllable always stressed in 'apartment'? Yes. In standard English, the stress reliably falls on the second syllable: a-PART-ment. This holds across US, UK, and AU varieties, though vowel quality in the /ɑː/ of the stressed syllable and the final /ə/ can vary by accent. Visualizing the word with a pulse: ta-PA-ment helps you place emphasis correctly and prevents mis-stressing the first syllable.
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