Standard Lemma guide

flatmate

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈflætmeɪt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A person with whom one shares a flat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A person with whom one shares any rental dwelling, not necessarily a flat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ireland, New-Zealand, UK

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

an associate who shares an apartment with you

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: friend

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *flataz Old Norse flatrbor. Middle English flat English flat English -mate English flatmate From flat + -mate.

Across languages

Translations

47 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: company de pis — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Catalan: companya de pis — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Chinese Mandarin: 室友 (shìyǒu) — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Chinese Mandarin: 同屋 (tóngwū) — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Danish: bofælle — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Dutch: huisgenoot — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Esperanto: kunloĝanto — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Finnish: asuintoveri — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Finnish: kämppäkaveri — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • French: colocataire — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • French: coloc — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • German: Mitbewohner — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • German: Mitbewohnerin — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Greek: συγκάτοικος (sygkátoikos) — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Hindi: सहवासी (sahvāsī) — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Hungarian: lakótárs — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Italian: coinquilino — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Italian: coinquilina — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Japanese: 同居人 (dōkyo-nin) — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Japanese: ルームメイト (rūmumēto) — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Japanese: 部屋っ子 (heyakko) — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Korean: 룸메이트 (rummeiteu) — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bofrende — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Polish: współlokator — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Polish: współlokatorka — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Portuguese: companheiro de quarto — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Portuguese: coabitante — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Russian: сосе́д по кварти́ре (soséd po kvartíre) — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Russian: сосе́дка по кварти́ре (sosédka po kvartíre) — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Spanish: compañero de piso — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Swedish: rumskamrat — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Turkish: ev arkadaşı — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Ukrainian: співме́шканець (spivméškanecʹ) — a person with whom one shares a flat
  • Dutch: huisgenoot — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Finnish: asuintoveri — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Finnish: kämppäkaveri — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • French: colocataire — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Greek: συγκάτοικος (sygkátoikos) — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Hindi: सहवासी (sahvāsī) — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Hungarian: lakótárs — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Japanese: 同居人 (dōkyo-nin) — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Japanese: ルームメイト (rūmumēto) — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Japanese: 部屋っ子 (heyakko) — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Polish: współlokator — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Polish: współlokatorka — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Russian: сосе́д по кварти́ре (soséd po kvartíre) — a person with whom one shares a rental property
  • Russian: сосе́дка по кварти́ре (sosédka po kvartíre) — a person with whom one shares a rental property