balcony

balcony — noun

1. a small floor that sticks out from the upstairs wall of a house, hotel, or block

1.nounB1
Definition

a small floor that sticks out from the upstairs wall of a house, hotel, or block of flats, with a low wall or metal bars on the open side so people can stand or sit safely outside.

Example

Yael watered her tomato plants on the small balcony every morning before work.

typical setting: balcony as outdoor garden space

From the hotel balcony, Kalani watched three fishing boats leave the harbor.

preposition pattern: from the/a balcony

Common collocations
  • step out onto the balcony
  • balcony railing
  • balcony door
  • private balcony
  • narrow balcony
  • balcony overlooking the sea
Synonyms
  • terrace

    usually larger and often at ground level or on a flat roof; not always raised.

  • veranda

    covered platform along the side of a house, often at ground level; common in older or tropical houses.

  • loggia

    formal or architectural term for a covered balcony with open arches.

Usage Note

Subject is usually a person or named place (apartment, hotel, café). Frequently appears with prepositions 'on the balcony' (location) and 'onto the balcony' (movement); 'from the balcony' indicates the viewpoint.

Common Mistakes

I stood in the balcony watching the parade.
I stood on the balcony watching the parade.
use 'on' for location, not 'in'.
Our room has a balcony to the sea.
Our room has a balcony overlooking the sea.
'overlooking' or 'with a view of' expresses what the balcony faces.

2. the higher floor of seats inside a theatre, cinema, or concert hall, raised abov

2.nounC2
Definition

the higher floor of seats inside a theatre, cinema, or concert hall, raised above the main seating area and usually reached by a separate staircase.

Example

Our cheap tickets put us in the back row of the balcony.

preposition pattern: in the balcony (location)

Grandma waved at us from the balcony as the curtain went up.

preposition pattern: from the balcony (viewpoint)

Common collocations
  • in the balcony
  • front row of the balcony
  • upper balcony
  • balcony seats
  • balcony tickets
Synonyms
  • gallery

    British English; often the highest and cheapest seating level.

  • circle

    British theatre term for the curved upper seating; 'dress circle' is the lowest balcony level.

  • mezzanine

    American English; the lowest balcony level, just above the main floor.

Antonyms
  • stalls

    British term for the main floor seating below the balcony.

  • orchestra

    American term for the ground-floor seats nearest the stage.

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is always indoors and refers to seating in a public venue. Use 'in the balcony' for where the audience sits, not 'on the balcony'.

Common Mistakes

We had seats on the balcony at the opera.
We had seats in the balcony at the opera.
for theatre seating, use 'in', not 'on'.

Word family

  • balconies
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe outdoor spaces attached to a building, but they differ in level, size, and feel. A balcony is the smallest and is always raised above the ground, sticking out from an upper-floor wall with a railing. A terrace is broader and flatter — it can sit on a rooftop, on the ground, or be cut into a slope, often big enough for a table and several chairs. A veranda runs along the outside of a house, usually at ground level and with a roof, and is common in older colonial or tropical homes. A patio is paved and on the ground, normally at the back of a house and used for outdoor meals. So you might step onto the balcony of a Paris flat, eat dinner on the rooftop terrace of a hotel, sip tea on a wooden veranda in Kyoto, and grill burgers on the back patio.

balcony ↗terrace ↗verandapatio

Common collocations

Nouns

  • balcony railing
  • balcony door
  • balcony seat
  • hotel balcony
  • apartment balcony

Phrases

  • step out onto the balcony
  • balcony overlooking the sea
  • private balcony

Prepositions

  • on the balcony
  • onto the balcony
  • from the balcony
  • in the balcony

Etymology

Germanic root 'balk-' (beam)ItalianEnglish

English borrowed the word in the early 1600s from Italian 'balcone', a large window or platform that stuck out from a building. The Italian word grew from an older root meaning 'beam' or 'scaffold', shared with Germanic languages — the same family as English 'balk' (a wooden beam). Early balconies were just supports for projecting wooden beams, and the meaning later widened to cover the small outdoor platforms and theatre seating areas we know today.