intermediate area between the exterior and interior of a building, especially a theatre. Originally the term was applied only to that area in French theatres, comparable to the greenroom in English theatres, where actors relaxed when they were offstage. Because actors were accustomed to visits by friends during and after performances, such areas came to be large and handsomely decorated.

In older French opera houses there were three foyers: one each for the public, the ballet, and the singers. In the contemporary United States the foyer is simply the vestibule or entrance area of a theatre, and the name is also applied rather indiscriminately to lobbies of public buildings and apartment houses, and even to entryways of private homes.