flatmate

Word family

• flat
  nounA2
• mate
  nounB1
• flat-sharing
  adjectiveB2
• housemate
  nounB1
• roommate
  nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Flatmate is the standard British term for someone sharing a flat or apartment with you, implying equal responsibility for rent and bills. Roommate is the American equivalent but also works in British English for university dormitory situations — you would call someone your 'roommate' in halls of residence, not your flatmate. Housemate is broader: it covers any shared dwelling, including houses and student houses, without specifying the type of building. Lodger describes a more formal arrangement where one person rents a room from a homeowner who still lives there; the lodger does not typically share ownership of bills or have equal say in household decisions. If you rent a flat with two other people on a single tenancy agreement, they are your flatmates. If you rent a room in a family home with meals included, you are a lodger.

Common collocations

Etymology

A compound of 'flat' (a set of rooms forming a home on one floor, from Old English 'flett' meaning floor or dwelling) and 'mate' (a companion or fellow occupant, from Middle Low German 'gemate' meaning table-companion). The word emerged in the 19th century as purpose-built blocks of flats became common in British cities, creating a need for a term for the people sharing them.