noun

lobby

LAH-bee/ˈlɑːbi/

An entrance hall or waiting area in a building.

Guests wait in the hotel lobby while their rooms are prepared.

Bright hotel entrance lobby with reception desk seating and arriving travelers.

Etymology

Laubia named a covered walk in a monastery. The meaning shifted from this sheltered passage to a building’s large entrance hall.

In context

Boston Design Week17:22

the first floor is where you come in through the bridge and as you can see there's a series of volumes from the entrance lobby to an introductory gallery to the first painting gallery

Architecture For and As Art, an Interview with Hiroshi Okamoto for Boston Design Week

More examples

I'll meet you in the lobby before the movie.
The hospital lobby has chairs near the information desk.
Both apartment buildings have small lobbies.

Forms

lobby · lobbies

Similar words

foyer: Often an entrance area in a home, theater, or hotel.
vestibule: A smaller enclosed space between outer and inner doors.
hall: Broader term for an entrance area, corridor, or large room.