antechamber

noun

an·​te·​cham·​ber ˈan-ti-ˌchām-bər How to pronounce antechamber (audio)

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One expects to find an antechamber outside the private chambers of a Supreme Court Justice or leading into the great hall of a medieval castle. In the private end of the castle the lord's or lady's bedchamber would have its own antechamber, which served as a dressing room and sitting room, but could also house bodyguards if the castle came under siege. Anteroom is a less formal synonym, one that's often applied to the waiting rooms of professional offices today.

Examples of antechamber in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web For the occasion, the Shed’s Griffin Theater greets guests with an antechamber cast in sepulchral light and hung with wall size images from Sakamoto’s life. Max Lakin, New York Times, 25 June 2023 Deliveries are made in a tented antechamber in the parking lot, so no outsiders enter the kitchen. Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2020 In the antechamber to the main gallery, a pair of curiosity cabinets — a convention popular in the salons of wealthy Victorians to display the sparkly plunder brought home from the colonies — stand side by side, one by Gardner, and the other by Saar. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Feb. 2023 Orwell’s antechamber will have gone. Tom Moon, Forbes, 7 May 2021 Two guides appear, likewise cleansed of earthly cares, and lead me into a broad antechamber that could be part of a very, very clean senatorial Roman bath. Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 21 Mar. 2023 The women waited in an antechamber and were summoned into the room one by one. Amit Katwala, WIRED, 2 Mar. 2023 Sick and tired of waiting around in the antechamber of socially sanctioned adulthood, millennials are setting up home right here. Laurie Penny, Wired, 18 June 2020 In an antechamber outside the senate floor, a conservator named Ismail Carvalho was inspecting a landscape painting that had been torn from its frame. Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'antechamber.' 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

French antichambre, from Middle French, from Italian anti- (from Latin ante-) + Middle French chambre room

First Known Use

1587, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of antechamber was in 1587

Dictionary Entries Near antechamber

Cite this Entry

“Antechamber.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antechamber. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

antechamber

noun
an·​te·​cham·​ber ˈant-i-ˌchām-bər How to pronounce antechamber (audio)

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