duplex

duplex — noun

1. a living area that occupies two connected floors within a single building, usual

1.nounB1
Definition

a living area that occupies two connected floors within a single building, usually with the living room and kitchen on the lower level and the bedrooms on the upper level.

Example

Shirin and her brother rented a duplex with a staircase connecting the two floors.

countable noun; staircase connecting two floors

The top-floor duplex on Elm Street has a private staircase that leads up to a large balcony.

Common collocations
  • duplex apartment
  • top-floor duplex
  • spacious duplex
Synonyms
  • maisonette

    used mainly in British English for a similar two-storey apartment, often with its own street entrance

Grammar Patterns

a + duplex

2. one of two separate homes built next to each other that share a common wall betw

2.nounB1
Definition

one of two separate homes built next to each other that share a common wall between them, each having its own entrance.

Example

Caleb and his parents moved into one side of a duplex near the park; his grandmother lives in the other.

countable; side of a duplex

The owners of the duplex on Cedar Lane agreed to repaint the shared wall after the leak.

Common collocations
  • buy a duplex
  • live in a duplex
  • duplex for sale
  • side of a duplex
Synonyms
  • semi-detached

    the British English term for a house joined to another by a shared wall; 'duplex' is more common in North America

  • two-family house

    a general term for any building designed for two households, not necessarily side-by-side

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a + duplex

Common Mistakes

A duplex means two houses on separate land.
A duplex means two homes sharing one wall on the same piece of land.
In American English, a duplex is a single building divided into two homes, not two separate houses on different lots.

duplex — adjective

duplex — verb

Word family

  • simplex
    adjectiveC1
  • triplex
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four terms describe types of apartments, but they differ in layout and location. A "duplex" is any unit on two connected floors, often found in a larger building. A "maisonette" is similar but more common in British English and usually has its own street entrance. A "penthouse" is a luxury unit on the top floor of a high-rise building; it may or may not span two levels. A "loft" originally meant a converted industrial space with high ceilings and open areas — it is not defined by having two floors. For example, you might say: 'Their duplex has a spiral staircase connecting the levels,' but 'Their loft has tall windows and exposed brick walls.' If the unit is on the top floor with premium finishes, call it a penthouse; if it opens directly onto the street, it is a maisonette.

duplex ↗maisonettepenthouseloft

Common collocations

Nouns

  • duplex owner
  • duplex unit

Phrases

  • live in a duplex
  • buy a duplex
  • rent a duplex
  • duplex for sale
  • duplex for rent

Prepositions

  • in a duplex
  • on the duplex

Etymology

LatinEnglish

The word comes directly from Latin 'duplex', meaning 'twofold' or 'double'. This is formed from 'duo' ('two') and the root '-plex' (from 'plicare', meaning 'to fold'). The term first appeared in English in the late 1500s with the general meaning of 'having two parts'. By the 1800s it was used in architecture to describe buildings with two separate living units, and later in the 1900s it was adopted in telecommunications and printing for technologies that operate in two directions or on two sides.