atrium

noun

atri·​um ˈā-trē-əm 

plural atria ˈā-trē-ə  also atriums

1

: the central room of a Roman house

2

plural usually atriums

a

: a rectangular open patio around which a house is built

b

: a many-storied court in a building (such as a hotel) usually with a skylight

3

[New Latin, from Latin] : an anatomical cavity or passage

especially : the chamber or either of the chambers of the heart that receives blood from the veins and forces it into the ventricle or ventricles see heart illustration

atrial

ˈā-trē-əl 

adjective

Did you know?

In an ancient Roman house, an atrium was an open central court that contained the impluvium, a basin where rainwater collected. It originally contained the hearth and functioned as the center of family life. The term later came to be used for the open front courtyard of a Christian basilica, where congregants collected before services. The atrium was revived in the 20th century in the form of glass-covered, greenery-filled multistory spaces sometimes found in shopping centers, office buildings, and large hotels.

Examples of atrium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Guests will be able to learn about New Year’s resolutions, create their own crafts and watch a confetti drop at noon in the atrium. —Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Jan. 2025

On the final day of the assembly, delegates ranged through the atrium and two adjoining rooms, voting on more than four dozen discrete recommendations written on sheets of white paper hung from walls and windows. —Nick Romeo, The New Yorker, 31 Dec. 2024

Some of the resort’s 1,600 guests rooms will overlook the atrium, while others will enjoy views of the bay and Pacific Ocean. —Beth Luberecki, USA TODAY, 31 Dec. 2024

By contrast with this vision of a meditational paradise, the show’s largest mandala, installed in the Lehman Wing’s skylit central atrium, is a walk-in image of an Impure Land, our 21st-century world. —Holland Cotter, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

atrium

noun

atri·​um ˈā-trē-əm 

plural atria -trē-ə  also atriums

: a chamber of the heart receiving blood from the veins and forcing it into a ventricle that in lung-breathing vertebrates (as frogs and human beings) is one of two chambers of which the right receives blood full of carbon dioxide from the body and the left receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs but in gill-breathing vertebrates (as fishes) is only a single chamber

Medical Definition

atrium

noun

atri·​um ˈā-trē-əm 

plural atria -trē-ə  also atriums

: an anatomical cavity or passage

especially : a chamber of the heart that receives blood from the veins and forces it into a ventricle or ventricles