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rest house

rest house

1 4.6
A building where travelers can sleep and rest
  • noun
  • /rɛst haʊs/
  • Archaic
translation icon : casa de descanso
  • The rest house provided a welcome shelter for weary travelers after a long day of trekking.

Examples

  • Finding no room either at the dak bungalow or the tourist lodge, I finally found a place to stay in the forest rest house.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Well, I can arrange for you to stay at the rest house.

  • When we reached the rest house, it was half past six.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Some tourists are arriving at the rest house.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I did not regret this, since there was a kind of comfortable thrill in staying at the rest house, surrounded by the forest.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • We had to stay at the PWD rest house.

    Blog text (8)
  • Arriving at the crossroads, she turned in the direction of the rest house where she had originally proposed to spend the night.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • All through midday, I wandered around the rest house.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • There are as yet no hotels on the summit, but the Omani government operates three rest houses for its employees.

    Academic text (1992)
  • A friend of a friend I had met in Mansa was renovating her small restaurant located across the street from the rest house where we were staying.

    Academic text (2006)

Synonyms

lodge
vsrest house
170 3.4

A small house near nature where travelers stay temporarily

is used mainly where formal hotels are unavailable in remote locations
lodging
vsrest house
50 3.4

A place where you stay for a short time or a short stay there

denotes a specific building used as a remote shelter for travelers
hostel
vsrest house
34 2.1

A cheap place for travelers or students to sleep, often with shared rooms and facilities

is more about a solitary shelter in remote areas rather than shared low cost stays
guesthouse
vsrest house
21 2.5

A small building near a house where visitors stay

is public shelter placed where hotels are absent, serving passing travelers
lodging house
vsrest house
  • UK
1 3.6

A house that rents rooms to people for short or long stays

is offered primarily as a temporary shelter for passing travelers in remote spots
sleeping accommodation
vsrest house
1 3.4

A place for sleeping, often in a hotel or train

is a whole shelter serving travelers in isolated places rather than just a sleeping space
accommodation house
vsrest house
3.8

A building that offers rooms for people to stay for a short time

is focused on sheltering travelers specifically in remote, hotel-free areas
lodgings
vsrest house
3.3

Temporary rooms you rent to stay in for a short time

is a single shelter provided mainly for travelers in isolated areas

How Comfortable

hotel
1.0
inn
239 1.0
guesthouse
21 2.5
rest house
  • Archaic
1 4.6
shelter
253 1.0

Surface Forms

rest house singular
rest houses plural

Morphology

rest + house

The meaning 'a building or shelter for travelers to rest' is directly derivable from combining 'rest' (a period of stopping activity) with 'house' (a building) — i.e., a house for resting. This noun–noun compositional pattern is common and follows regular English compounding, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand it.

Etymology

Rest house comes from the simple idea of a small house where tired travelers could stop and rest on a long journey. That's why it means 'a shelter or place to sleep' for people passing through.