What does condominium mean?
A condominium is a form of property ownership in which individual dwellings — typically apartments in a larger building — are owned outright by separate purchasers, each holding title to their own unit, while spaces such as hallways, elevators, gardens, and amenities remain common property maintained collectively, usually through an owners' association funded by monthly fees. In everyday North American usage, the word most often refers to the unit itself: to say someone bought a condominium means they purchased their home within such a scheme rather than renting it. Informally shortened to 'condo', the term carries connotations of urban convenience, shared responsibility, and middle-class homeownership, though it can also evoke debates about fees, governance disputes, and special assessments. Interestingly, the name derives from a Latin-rooted legal concept of joint dominion, long used in international law to describe territory governed by two states at once — a fitting pedigree for a word built on the idea of sharing what cannot be divided.
nounA building or complex containing individually owned units, each held under separate title while common areas are shared by all owners; also, an individual unit so owned.
- A form of ownership in which individual housing units are separately titled and owned, while common areas such as lobbies and grounds are shared property governed by a owners' association.
- An individual residential unit held under this form of ownership.
- (Historical/legal) The joint sovereignty over a single territory by two or more states.
"They bought a waterfront condominium with views of the marina."
"After years of renting, they finally bought a two-bedroom condominium near the park."
"Under the treaty, the islands were placed under a condominium administered jointly by the two governments."
'Condominiums' is the standard plural in everyday American English; the Latinate plural 'condominia' appears occasionally in legal or stylistically formal writing.
"Several new condominiums went on the market downtown this spring."
Before it ever meant an apartment you could own, 'condominium' was a term of international law for territory ruled jointly by two sovereign powers — like Andorra's centuries-long dual rule by France and Spain.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of condominium
Condominium comes from Latin dominium, meaning ownership or lordship, combined with the prefix con-, meaning 'together' — hence its literal sense of joint ownership or rule. The term entered English in the early 18th century chiefly through international law, where it denoted a territory governed jointly by two or more sovereign powers. It was later adopted into modern legal and real-estate terminology to describe individually owned units within a shared building, a usage that became widespread in the United States during the mid-20th century. Its Latin root also underlies related English words such as domain, dominion, domicile, and dominate.
Related word forms
How condominium is actually used
The word is standard in North American real estate, where 'condo' serves as its informal shorthand; in Britain, individually owned flats are more often described simply as leasehold flats. When applied to countries or territories, the legal sense is formal and now largely historical.
Easily confused with condominium
In a co-op, residents own shares of a corporation that owns the whole building rather than owning their individual unit outright as in a condominium.