Definition of "mezzanine"

mezzanine

/ˈmɛzəniːn/

noun
plural mezzanines
1. (architecture)
  1. An intermediate floor or storey in between the main floors of a building; specifically, one that is directly above the ground floor which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, and so resembles a large balcony overlooking the ground floor; an entresol.
    Quotations
    [W]ater closet on mezzanine provided with opaque singlepane oblong window, tipup seat, bracket lamp, brass tierod brace, armrests, footstool and artistic oleograph on inner face of door: […]
    1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 17: Ithaca]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], part III [Nostos], page 666
    In these sheds, individual products rest on short racks, so they can be reached more easily by employees who pick and box orders. In order to fit more racks, companies put in several mezzanine levels. As a result, the sheds rise taller: 21 metres, compared to B2B’s 15 metres.
    2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, archived from the original on 11 July 2022
    On arrival at Birmingham New Street, I make my way upstairs to the mezzanine to get shots of an almost deserted concourse, polka-dotted with social distancing circles like some strange board-game.
    2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, page 68
  2. (by extension) An apartment, room, etc., on such an intermediate floor.
  3. (Canada, US) The lowest balcony in an auditorium, cinema, theatre, etc.; the dress circle.
  4. (obsolete)
    Additional flooring laid over a floor to bring it up to some height or level.
    In full mezzanine window: a small window at the height of a mezzanine floor (sense 1.1) or an attic, used to light these floors.
2. (theater, obsolete) A floor under the stage, from which contrivances such as traps are worked.
adjective
not comparable
1. (banking, business) Characteristic of or relating to high-interest loans which have no collateral, and are regarded as intermediate in nature, ranking above equity but below secured loans.
  Quotations
  This new vehicle funded the purchases of these tranches by issuing fixed-income interests to investors who were seeking high returns and who were willing to believe that by repackaging mezzanine tranches in MBS structures, some tranches could be designated as safe enough to obtain a AAA or AA rating.
  2020, Katharina Pistor, chapter 4, in The Code of Capital […] , Princeton University Press
2. (engineering) Fulfilling an intermediate or secondary function.
verb
third-person singular simple present mezzanines, present participle mezzanining, simple past and past participle mezzanined
1. (transitive) To fit (a building or other place) with a mezzanine floor.