ALCOVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does alcove mean? 

• ALCOVE (noun)
  The noun ALCOVE has 1 sense:

1. a small recess opening off a larger room

  Familiarity information: ALCOVE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALCOVE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A small recess opening off a larger room

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

alcove; bay

Hypernyms ("alcove" is a kind of...):

niche; recess (an enclosure that is set back or indented)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "alcove"):

carrel; carrell; cubicle; stall (small individual study area in a library)

 Context examples 

Scientists use the term "gully" for features on Mars that share three characteristics in their shape: an alcove at the top, a channel, and an apron of deposited material at the bottom.

(Mars Gullies Likely Not Formed by Liquid Water, NASA)

The scientific and cultural significance of the Spirit Cave remains, which were found in 1940 in a small rocky alcove in the Great Basin Desert, was not properly understood for 50 years.

(Ancient DNA analysis unlocks secrets of Ice Age tribes in the Americas, University of Cambridge)

He left the alcove in despair.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It was shady enough in the alcove, but I declare I quite dreaded the coming home again.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

He did not know enough to ask the man at the desk, and began his adventures in the philosophy alcove.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)