English Reference
Adjective

indoor

adj.
B1 Intermediate Oxford US /ˈɪnˌdɔɹ/ UK /ˈɪndɔː/ in·door

adj.located, used, or happening inside a building. You use this to describe things that are protected from the weather outside.

adj.situated, conducted, or used within the interior of a building. Attributive in function; it must precede the noun it modifies.


SIMPLE

The hotel has a large indoor pool.

CONTEXTUAL

Because of the heavy rain, the school moved the sports day to an indoor gym.

COMPLEX

The facility offers various indoor activities, including rock climbing and tennis, allowing athletes to train consistently regardless of the seasonal weather conditions.

Usage

The adjective is attributive, meaning it is placed before a noun (e.g., 'indoor plants') and is not typically used after a linking verb like 'is'.

Pitfall
The cat is indoor.The cat is indoors.

Indoor is an adjective used before nouns; indoors is the adverb used to describe where an action happens or where something is located.


From (with)in + door, first attested 1711.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Common
Updated