attic

Everyday

1. A room or space just under the roof of a house, often used for storing things. tree →
2. (adjective use) In or of the attic: an attic bedroom. tree →

In the lessons

In stories attics are full of old trunks, secrets and spiders; in everyday life people store boxes, decorations and suitcases there. In safety, attics can have no proper floor and loose wires, so children should not go up alone. Phrases: up in the attic, attic room, attic conversion, clear out the attic.

Examples

• The Christmas decorations are up in the attic. tree →
• We found Grandma's old letters in a trunk in the attic. tree →
• My big brother's bedroom is in the attic. tree →
• Only step on the boards in the attic, never between them. tree →
• A bat had got into the attic. tree →
• The attic is hot in summer and cold in winter. tree →
• There was once a hard-working student who lived in an attic, and he had nothing in the world of his own. tree →

Note

Countable. Similar words: loft (UK, often a space you climb into) and garret (a small, poor attic room in old stories). Not to be confused with "Attic", meaning from ancient Athens.