Definition of "mezzanine" []

• A partial story between two main stories of a building. (noun)
• The lowest balcony in a theater or the first few rows of that balcony. (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.

• "Now we weren't really a venture capital company so much as we were at that time called mezzanine financing."
• "The remaining $500 million coming due Tuesday is held by three so-called mezzanine lenders — Five Mile, MetLife Inc. and Government of Singapore Investment Corp., according to people familiar with the situation."
• "Holders of the chain's $3.3 billion in so-called mezzanine, or junior, debt aren't likely to see any recovery."