Definition of "lean-to" []

• Having or characterized by a single slope or pitch: a lean-to roof; lean-to construction. (adjective)
• A structure with a single-pitch roof that is attached to the side of a building as a wing or an extension. (noun)
• A shelter or shed having a roof with a single slope or pitch. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "How does a disadvantaged teen, who is living in a lean-to in a remote village in Kenya, gain access to a college education, when most of her peers become parents in high school?"
• "The cooking being done in the small, lean-to kitchen, the whole cabin formed a large living room."
• "I lived in the lean-to the first year; then I built the cabin and sent for my books."