Halls of residence

In United States usage, the word dormitory means a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students. In the US it is common for residents (typically two) to share a bedroom. In the US these buildings are often single sex, or sexes are accommodated on separate floors.

In United Kingdom usage, the word dormitory means a room containing several beds accommodating unrelated people. In the United Kingdom, this arrangement exists typically for pupils at a boarding school, travellers or military personnel, but is almost entirely unknown for university students.

In United Kingdom usage, a building providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people is called a Hall of Residence (university students), House (members of a religious community or pupils at a boarding school), Hostel (students, workers or travellers) or Barracks (military personnel). In the United Kingdom, Halls of Residence almost entirely have single occupancy rooms. In the United Kingdom, Halls of Residence are almost always mixed sex, with residents being allocated to adjacent rooms regardless of sex.

The word dormitory (often abbreviated to dorm) comes originally from the Latin word dormitorium.

Worldwide, it is unusual for unrelated mixed sex occupancy of a bedroom except temporarily (for example in a [travel] hostel or a railway sleeping car). Where this does occur, it is so remarkable as to be newsworthy (for example the mixed sex sharing of bedrooms in the Norwegian Army ).

Most colleges and universities provide single or multiple occupancy rooms for their students, usually at a cost. These buildings consist of many such rooms, like an apartment building, and the number of rooms varies quite widely from just a few to hundreds. The largest dormitory building is Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy.

Many colleges and universities no longer use the word "dormitory" and staff are now using the term residence hall (analogous to the United Kingdom "hall of residence") or simply "hall" instead. Outside academia however, the word "dorm" or "dormitory" is commonly used without negative connotations. Indeed, the words are used regularly in the marketplace as well as routinely in advertising. College and university residential rooms vary in size, shape, facilities and number of occupants. Typically, a United States residence hall room holds two students with no toilet. This is usually referred to as a "double". Often, residence halls have communal bathroom facilities.

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