ENGLISH
REFERENCE

atrium

n. countable
C1 Advanced US //ˈeɪtɹiəm// UK //ˈætɹiəm// atri·um

n. a large, open space inside a building that often has a glass roof. It can also mean one of the two top chambers in your heart that receive blood.

n. a central, open-roofed hall or court in an ancient Roman house, or a modern large open space within a building. In anatomy, refers to either of the two upper cavities of the heart into which blood is passed to the ventricles.


SIMPLE

The hotel guests gathered in the sunlit atrium for breakfast.

CONTEXTUAL

Architects designed the new office complex with a five-story atrium to maximize natural light in the interior workspaces.

COMPLEX

The surgeon carefully monitored the pressure within the left atrium to ensure the valve replacement was functioning correctly without causing fluid backup in the lungs.

Origin

From Latin ātrium (“entry hall”), from Etruscan.

Usage

The plural form can be either 'atriums' or the Latinate 'atria', with the latter being more common in medical and scientific contexts.

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