An apartment building, block of flats or tenement, is a multi-unit dwelling made up of several (generally four or more) apartments (US), or flats (UK). A difference may be drawn such as in San Francisco, California, between an apartment and a flat, where an apartment is one of many units on a floor and a flat is the only unit on a given floor. Where the building is a high-rise construction, it is termed a tower block in the UK and elsewhere. The term apartment building is used regardless of height in North America and the terms residential tower or apartment tower are used in other countries such as Australia. Hi-rise apartments are a popular mode of living in many of the larger North American cities, as well as cities such as Dubai.
A two-unit dwelling is known as a duplex (US); a three-unit dwelling is known as a triplex. A two-floor dwelling is known as a maisonette (UK); a three-floor dwelling is known as a three-flat in Chicago, or in Boston as a three-decker or a triple-decker. Beyond this, cardinal numbers are used (e.g., fourplex, fiveplex) in the US, and the term multiplex is also used.
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