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roommate

roommate

611 1.1
A person who shares a house, apartment, or room with you
  • noun
  • /ˈrumˌmeɪt/
  • US
translation icon : compañero de cuarto
  • Having a roommate can make living expenses much more affordable.
  • live with a roommate
  • apartment with a roommate
  • college roommate

She'll stay in her dorm, get to know her roommates, plural.

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Examples

  • The number of young adults living with a roommate has increased while married household arrangements wane.

    Academic text (2017)
  • You know, I've got a roommate for the first time.

  • OK And you have a roommate or you live at home?

  • That guy's college roommate was my father.

  • Oh, I have a roommate.

  • One day, Sally came home and found her roommate smoking inside again.

    Academic text (1994)
  • I had a Mormon roommate my freshman year.

  • She was my freshman roommate last year.

  • So my roommate thinks this mug is cursed.

  • The patient lived in an apartment with a roommate, and he communicated via lip-reading and sign language.

    Academic text (2005)

Synonyms

roomie
vsroommate
  • Informal
19 7.9

A person who shares a room or apartment with you

is the neutral term for someone who shares a room, often in dorms
housemate
vsroommate
15 1.8

A person who lives in the same house and is not a family member or partner

is about sharing one room rather than merely living in the same house
flatmate
vsroommate
  • UK
7 2.5

A person who shares a flat or apartment with other people

is used when someone shares a room, not only the same flat
compañero
vsroommate
9.3

A person who shares a home or apartment with you

is narrower, meaning sharing the same room rather than the whole dwelling
cohabitant
vsroommate
4.8

A person who lives with others in the same home

is narrower, focusing on sharing a room rather than general living together

How Informal

roomie
  • Informal
19 7.9
roommate
  • US
611 1.1
tenant
248 3.0

Surface Forms

roommate singular
roommates plural

Morphology

roommate = room + mate (transparent) = room + mate

Direct and regular compound of 'room' + 'mate'; meaning (person with whom one shares a room) is predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Roommate is made from room and mate, where mate means 'friend' or 'companion', so a roommate is literally someone you share a room with. It's like classmate or teammate, which also name people who are 'with' you in a place or group.