stateroom

IPA/ˈsteɪtruːm/
IPA/ˈsteɪtruːm/

stateroom — noun

  • stateroomsingular
  • stateroomsplural

1. a very large, richly decorated room in a palace or castle where rulers hold cere

1.nounC1
Definition

a very large, richly decorated room in a palace or castle where rulers hold ceremonies and welcome important guests.

Example

The queen welcomed the visiting kings in the palace stateroom under golden ceilings.

stateroom as the formal setting for ceremonies

Tourists walked slowly through the castle's grand stateroom, admiring the painted walls.

Common collocations
  • palace stateroom
  • royal stateroom
  • grand stateroom
Synonyms
  • hall

    broader; any large room, not tied to royal or state ceremony

  • chamber

    formal room for a specific body or purpose, often a council

Usage Note

Subject is usually a palace, castle, or government building; the room is named for hosting official ceremonies, not for everyday living.

2. a private bedroom for passengers to sleep in on a large passenger ship such as a

2.nounB2
Definition

a private bedroom for passengers to sleep in on a large passenger ship such as a cruise ship.

Example

Yara unpacked her suitcase in the small stateroom before the cruise ship left port.

stateroom as sleeping quarters on a ship

Their stateroom had a round window that looked straight out over the blue sea.

Common collocations
  • book a stateroom
  • ocean-view stateroom
  • stateroom with a balcony
Synonyms
  • cabin

    more general word for a passenger's room on any ship or plane

  • berth

    narrower; the sleeping bed itself, or a small sleeping space

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this room is on a ship and meant for sleeping, while sense 1 is a grand room on land used for ceremonies.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

On a passenger ship these three words all point to where you sleep, but they differ in size and feel. A cabin is the everyday, general word for any private room on a ship or plane, from a tiny budget space to a roomy suite. A stateroom suggests a larger, more comfortable cabin, often with a window or balcony, and the word carries a slightly fancier, hotel-like tone that cruise companies favour in their brochures. A berth is the narrowest term: it is the built-in bed itself, or a small sleeping slot, so a single cabin may contain two berths. You book a stateroom for the trip, you sleep in a berth inside it, and you call the whole space your cabin in casual talk.

stateroom ↗cabin ↗berth ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • stateroom door
  • stateroom window

Phrases

  • a private stateroom

Prepositions

  • in the stateroom

Etymology

English

Stateroom joins state and room. Here state means the grand, official business of a ruler or government, so a stateroom was first a splendid room kept for ceremonies and important guests. By the early 1700s the word was also used at sea for the best private cabins on a ship, and that shipboard meaning is now the more familiar one.