1
a(1)
: a passage (as in a theater or railroad passenger car) separating sections of seats
(2)
: such a passage regarded as separating opposing parties in a legislature
supported by members on both sides of the aisle
b
: a passage (as in a store or warehouse) for inside traffic
2
: the side of a church nave separated by piers from the nave proper
Phrases
walk down the aisle or less commonly go down the aisle
: to get married
Prenuptial agreements have long been used by couples who want to set down the terms of any future divorce before they walk down the aisle.Desa Philadelpha

Examples of aisle in a Sentence

The bride walked down the aisle to the altar. By the end of the concert, the people in the theater were dancing in the aisles.
Recent Examples on the Web Their big day saw the couple's then 1-year-old daughter riding down the aisle in a little blue car, while Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce served as a groomsman. Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024 The two have not revealed when their trip down the aisle will be. Lauren Huff, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2024 There’s some in the frozen and pasta aisle of Trader Joe’s. Alex Beggs, Bon Appétit, 19 Mar. 2024 Mary Morton, a 99-year-old retired assistant principal in the Bronx, N.Y., wanted to live long enough to watch Melanie Renee White, her granddaughter, walk down the aisle with her then longtime boyfriend, Andrew R. Trotter. Andrew Zucker, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 The dairy aisle of today presents seemingly endless options for types of milk to add to your cereal, coffee or baked goods. Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2024 An actual modern-day Republican would be more likely to imply everyone across the aisle is a groomer. Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 But opponents of the bill on both sides of the aisle echoed each others’ concerns. Lauren Feiner, The Verge, 13 Mar. 2024 In the room, on the Democrats’ side of the aisle, lawmakers leaped to their feet and pounded out their applause with indiscriminate gusto. Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'aisle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ele, eill, ile, ilde "lateral division of a church on either side of the nave, usually divided from the nave by pillars," borrowed from Anglo-French ele, esle, aile, ile "wing, wing of a building, lateral division of a nave" (continental Old French ele "wing, wing of a building"), going back to Latin āla "wing" — more at ala

Note: The Middle English forms ile, ilde show assimilation to ile, ilde "island" (see isle entry 1)—the rows on either side of the nave perhaps being thought of as isolated from the rest of the church—and effectively supplant ele, eill, etc. in the sixteenth century. The d in ilde is a secondary extrusion (compare mold entry 3). In early Modern English ile competes orthographically with a variety of other spellings, as ayle/aile, which appears to have regressed to the sense "wing" and adopted the Middle French spelling aile, an etymologizing variant of earlier ele; and isle, which copies the spelling of isle entry 1. The now standard spelling aisle looks like a merger of aile and isle. Samuel Johnson enters aisle in his dictionary (1755) with some reluctance: "Thus the word is written by [Joseph] Addison, but perhaps improperly; since it seems deducible only from either aile, a wing, or allée, a path; and is therefore to be written aile." As Johnson was likely aware, aisle had developed a broadened sense "passage between pews in the middle of a church" that copies a now out-of-use sense of alley entry 1. The still broader extensions "passage between seats in a train, bus or airplane" and "space between rows of items in a department store or supermarket" first appeared in American English.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of aisle was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near aisle

Cite this Entry

“Aisle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aisle. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

aisle

noun
1
: a passage between sections of seats (as in a church or theater)
2
: a passage between shelves (as in a store)

More from Merriam-Webster on aisle

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