condominium

/ˌkɒndəˈmɪniəm/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌkɑːndəˈmɪniəm/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌkän-də-ˈmi-nē-əm/ (ame, mw)

condominium — noun

  • condominiumsingular
  • condominiumsplural

1. a residential building where every apartment is privately owned by the household

1.名詞B2
釋義

a residential building where every apartment is privately owned by the household living in it, while corridors, lifts, gyms, and other communal spaces are jointly owned and managed by all the residents together.

例句

Amihan and her brother grew up in a tall condominium next to the metro station.

common pattern: live in a [tall/new/luxury] condominium

The new condominium on Oak Street has a rooftop garden and a small gym shared by all residents.

highlights shared facilities — the defining feature

同義詞
  • apartment building

    broader; covers rental blocks too, where condominium implies private ownership of each unit

  • condo

    informal shortening, very common in American speech

文法句型

a/the condominium

live in a condominium

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 2: this sense names the whole BUILDING, while sense 2 names one apartment inside it. American English; British speakers usually say 'block of flats' for the building and 'flat' for a single unit.

常見錯誤

❌I rent a small condominium on the third floor.' (when meaning one unit).
✅I rent a small condominium unit on the third floor.' OR use sense 2's countable reading
💡'I rent a condominium on the third floor.' is fine in American English where the word covers both readings, but adding 'unit' makes it clear you mean one apartment, not the whole building.

2. a single apartment that the resident has bought and owns outright, located insid

2.名詞B2
釋義

a single apartment that the resident has bought and owns outright, located inside a building whose hallways and other shared spaces belong jointly to every owner.

例句

Zola finally saved enough money to buy a small condominium in downtown Toronto.

very common verb pattern: buy/purchase a condominium

After the divorce, Samir kept the condominium and moved his books into the spare bedroom.

treats the condominium as a single owned unit

同義詞
  • condo

    informal short form; far more common in everyday speech than the full word

  • apartment

    covers rentals too; 'condominium' specifies that the resident OWNS it

文法句型

buy/own/sell a condominium

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names ONE owned apartment, not the whole building. The same word does both jobs in American English; context usually makes the reading clear (buying/selling/renting a single unit → sense 2; rooftop gardens / shared facilities → sense 1).

常見錯誤

❌I'm building a condominium for my family.' (when meaning one apartment).
✅I'm buying a condominium for my family.
💡you cannot construct one apartment; the building is built by a developer and individual units are then purchased.

3. in international law, a territory whose government is jointly held by several ou

3.名詞C2
釋義

in international law, a territory whose government is jointly held by several outside countries acting together, with each foreign power holding equal authority — for example, the New Hebrides islands were jointly governed by Britain and France before independence.

例句

For nearly seventy years, the islands were a condominium of Britain and France.

common frame: a condominium of [country A] and [country B]

Eri's history teacher explained how Sudan was once a condominium ruled by Britain and Egypt together.

passive structure: ruled as a condominium

同義詞
  • joint rule

    plain-English paraphrase; describes the arrangement rather than naming a territory

  • coimperium

    rare technical synonym in international-law writing

反義詞
  • sovereign state

    a country governed entirely by itself, with no shared foreign authority

文法句型

a condominium of [country A] and [country B]

用法筆記

Only sense that takes the prepositional frame 'condominium of [country] and [country]'. Restricted to legal, political, and historical writing — never used in everyday speech about housing.