amenities

amenities — noun

1. features and services in a town, hotel, or other place that people can use to ma

1.nounB2
Definition

features and services in a town, hotel, or other place that people can use to make their stay or daily life more enjoyable — such as swimming pools, parks, restaurants, or shops.

Example

The Grand Hotel offers many amenities, including a swimming pool and a fitness centre.

collocation: offer amenities

Parks and playgrounds are important public amenities in any growing city.

collocation: public amenities

Common collocations
  • hotel amenities
  • public amenities
  • local amenities
  • nearby amenities
  • offer amenities
  • provide amenities
Synonyms
  • facilities

    broader term that includes equipment and spaces for specific activities; 'amenities' emphasises enjoyment

  • services

    focuses on useful help or functions rather than physical features

  • features

    more general; any characteristic rather than those designed for comfort

Antonyms
  • drawbacks

    features that make a place less attractive

Grammar Patterns

always plural

often preceded by 'the' or a possessive

Usage Note

Always used in the plural form. Frequently describes features managed by local government or hotel management.

Common Mistakes

The hotel room has amenity like free WiFi.
The hotel room has amenities like free WiFi.
'amenities' is almost always plural even when listing a single example.
The city's amenities include the sewage system and water treatment plant.
The city's amenities include parks, libraries, and sports centres.
'Amenities' refers to features that provide enjoyment or comfort, not purely functional infrastructure.

2. the basic things in a home or building that people need to live comfortably, suc

2.nounB2
Definition

the basic things in a home or building that people need to live comfortably, such as running water, heating, and electricity.

Example

The mountain cabin had no basic amenities like running water or electricity.

collocation: basic amenities

After the earthquake, thousands of families were left without basic amenities.

collocation: without basic amenities

Common collocations
  • basic amenities
  • essential amenities
  • simple amenities
  • modern amenities
  • lack amenities
  • without amenities
Synonyms
  • comforts

    warmer tone; emphasises physical ease rather than practical necessity

  • conveniences

    highlights time-saving or effort-saving rather than essential living needs

  • necessities

    stronger emphasis on things you cannot do without

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

always plural

often paired with 'basic' or 'essential'

Usage Note

Nearly always modified by adjectives like 'basic', 'essential', 'modern', or 'simple'. Unlike sense 1, the focus is on necessity rather than enjoyment.

Common Mistakes

The flat lacks basic amenity like heating.
The flat lacks basic amenities like heating.
'amenities' stays plural even when you name one example.
We need to install amenities for the bathroom.
We need to install basic amenities in the bathroom.
Specify 'basic' or use a more precise term like 'fittings'.

3. polite, conventional remarks or small social gestures that people exchange to ke

3.nounC1
Definition

polite, conventional remarks or small social gestures that people exchange to keep an interaction friendly and smooth — for example, asking about someone's health or commenting on the weather.

Example

After the formal greetings, the two diplomats exchanged the usual amenities.

collocation: exchange amenities

We exchanged a few amenities about the weather before the meeting began.

Common collocations
  • exchange amenities
  • the usual amenities
  • social amenities
  • formal amenities
Synonyms
  • pleasantries

    more common synonym; less formal and more widely understood

  • courtesies

    emphasises politeness as a matter of good manners

  • civilities

    slightly old-fashioned; behaviour that meets minimal social standards

Antonyms
  • rudeness

    behaviour that deliberately lacks social grace

  • discourtesy

    formal term for lack of politeness

Grammar Patterns

always plural

often 'the amenities' or 'exchange amenities'

Usage Note

Used in formal or literary contexts. The phrase 'the amenities' without further qualification can refer specifically to these social courtesies. Distinguish from sense 1, which refers to physical features rather than social behaviour.

Common Mistakes

He offered me the amenities of tea and biscuits.
He offered me tea and biscuits.' or 'We exchanged the usual amenities before the talk.
'amenities' in the social sense refers to words and gestures, not refreshments.

4. desirable features of a house, apartment, or piece of land that make it more att

4.nounC1
Definition

desirable features of a house, apartment, or piece of land that make it more attractive to buyers or renters and increase its value — including things like a garage, garden, central heating, or solar panels.

Example

The house has modern amenities like central heating and double glazing.

collocation: modern amenities

Proximity to good schools is a key amenity that home buyers look for.

collocation: key amenity

Common collocations
  • modern amenities
  • property amenities
  • key amenity
  • excellent amenities
  • on-site amenities
Synonyms
  • features

    broader term for any characteristic of the property

  • selling points

    emphasises the marketing value of the features

  • advantages

    focuses on benefits to the buyer rather than physical installations

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

always plural

often modified by 'modern' or describing specific installations

Usage Note

Common in real-estate listings and property descriptions. Unlike sense 1, the focus is on features that add financial or practical value to a specific property, rather than community-wide services.

Common Mistakes

The house has amenity like a garden.
The house has amenities like a garden.
'amenities' remains plural even when listing a single feature type, unless you use the singular form 'amenity' (less common).

Word family

  • amenity
    noun (singular)C1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe things provided in a place, but they differ in scope and emphasis. 'Amenities' focuses on things that make life more pleasant or comfortable — a swimming pool, a park, or a garden. 'Facilities' is broader and more functional, covering buildings, equipment, and spaces designed for a specific purpose, such as a sports hall or conference room. 'Services' refers to useful work or help provided, like cleaning, security, or waste collection. 'Features' is the most general term and can describe any characteristic — positive or neutral — of a building or location. For example, a hotel might advertise its amenities (pool, spa), its facilities (meeting rooms, gym equipment), its services (room service, laundry), and its features (sea view, historic architecture).

amenities ↗facilitiesservicesfeatures

Common collocations

Nouns

  • range of amenities
  • standard of amenities
  • level of amenities
  • lack of amenities

Adverbs

  • well-equipped with amenities
  • fully serviced with amenities

Phrases

  • amenities and services
  • amenities and facilities

Prepositions

  • amenities in
  • amenities of
  • amenities for
  • amenities at

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word comes from Latin 'amoenitas', meaning pleasantness or delight, derived from 'amoenus' (pleasant). It entered English through Old French 'aménité' in the 14th century, originally referring to pleasant qualities of a place. The modern plural sense — referring to physical features that provide comfort — developed in the 19th century, and the specialised real-estate meaning emerged in the early 20th century.