aisle

noun

ˈī(-ə)l How to pronounce aisle (audio)
1
a(1)
: a passage (as in a theater or railroad passenger car) separating sections of seats
(2)
: such a passage regarded as separating opposing parties in a legislature
supported by members on both sides of the aisle
b
: a passage (as in a store or warehouse) for inside traffic
2
: the side of a church nave separated by piers from the nave proper
Phrases
walk down the aisle or less commonly go down the aisle
: to get married
Prenuptial agreements have long been used by couples who want to set down the terms of any future divorce before they walk down the aisle.—Desa Philadelpha

Examples of aisle in a Sentence

The bride walked down the aisle to the altar. By the end of the concert, the people in the theater were dancing in the aisles.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
To walk down the aisle, the reality star wore a custom Oscar de la Renta, designed by Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia. —Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025 Inside, some aisles already look emptier than usual. —NPR, 28 Oct. 2025 Olowe’s ability to pair cultural authenticity with serious clinical and educational work has made Topicals a brand that resonates far beyond beauty aisles. —Essence, 28 Oct. 2025 Target Santa seen bench holding book The clip Target shared online ringing in the 2025 season shows a woman walk by the Santa impersonator – who is spotted holding an open book in an aisle. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for aisle

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ele, eill, ile, ilde "lateral division of a church on either side of the nave, usually divided from the nave by pillars," borrowed from Anglo-French ele, esle, aile, ile "wing, wing of a building, lateral division of a nave" (continental Old French ele "wing, wing of a building"), going back to Latin āla "wing" — more at ala

Note: The Middle English forms ile, ilde show assimilation to ile, ilde "island" (see isle entry 1)—the rows on either side of the nave perhaps being thought of as isolated from the rest of the church—and effectively supplant ele, eill, etc. in the sixteenth century. The d in ilde is a secondary extrusion (compare mold entry 3). In early Modern English ile competes orthographically with a variety of other spellings, as ayle/aile, which appears to have regressed to the sense "wing" and adopted the Middle French spelling aile, an etymologizing variant of earlier ele; and isle, which copies the spelling of isle entry 1. The now standard spelling aisle looks like a merger of aile and isle. Samuel Johnson enters aisle in his dictionary (1755) with some reluctance: "Thus the word is written by [Joseph] Addison, but perhaps improperly; since it seems deducible only from either aile, a wing, or allée, a path; and is therefore to be written aile." As Johnson was likely aware, aisle had developed a broadened sense "passage between pews in the middle of a church" that copies a now out-of-use sense of alley entry 1. The still broader extensions "passage between seats in a train, bus or airplane" and "space between rows of items in a department store or supermarket" first appeared in American English.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of aisle was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing aisle

Rhymes for aisle

See All Rhymes for aisle

Browse Nearby Words

Āishah
aisle
aisled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Aisle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aisle. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

aisle

noun
ˈī(ə)l How to pronounce aisle (audio)
1
: a passage between sections of seats (as in a church or theater)
2
: a passage between shelves (as in a store)

More from Merriam-Webster on aisle

Nglish: Translation of aisle for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about aisle

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What’s the difference between ‘cemetery’ and ‘graveyard’?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Skibidi, Mog & More: Gen Alpha Slang

13 Wonderful Words That You're Not Using (Yet)

Ten More Words from Taylor Swift Songs

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Skibidi, Mog & More: Gen Alpha Slang

13 Wonderful Words That You're Not Using (Yet)
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All