apartment house

plural apartment houses

1. broadlySynonym of apartment building: any building comprising apartments.

   Heritage House is a ten-story apartment house for seniors in the heart of downtown.

   Synonyms: apartment building

2. strictlyA house comparable in size to a single-family house but comprising several apartments; typically not more than two or three stories tall and containing a single-digit number of apartments (such as two to six).

   Armitage House is a stately old home on Main Street; it was built in the 1910s as the private home of a local factory owner, and years later it was converted into a trendy apartment house. [tour bus banter]