Definition of "penthouse" in English

noun

1. (now historical) A structure or annexe (especially one with a sloping roof) extending from the side of a building, sometimes as protection from the weather.

2. (by extension, now rare) Something forming a shelter or canopy over something; an awning, shelter, etc.

3. (tennis) Any of the sloping roofs at the side of a real tennis court.

   • 2005, Tony Collins (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Traditional British Rural Sports, Routledge, page 262, An odd derivative of real tennis lasted until the latter part of the eighteenth century at Rattray in Perthshire. It was played in the churchyard by two pairs of men, and the method for starting the play was to throw the ball onto the church roof, using it like the sloping penthouse of the tennis court.

4. An apartment or suite found on an upper floor, or floors, of a tall building, especially one that is expensive or luxurious with panoramic views.

verb

1. (transitive) To provide with a penthouse, shelter by means of a shed sloping from a wall, or anything similar.