Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

barrelhouse

American  
[bar-uhl-hous] / ˈbær əlˌhaʊs /

noun

  • barrelhouses
    plural
  1. a cheap saloon, especially one in New Orleans in the early part of the 20th century: so called from the racks of liquor barrels originally placed along the walls.

  2. a vigorous style of jazz originating in the barrelhouses of New Orleans in the early part of the 20th century.


barrelhouse British  
/ ˈbærəlˌhaʊs /

noun

  1. a cheap and disreputable drinking establishment

    1. a vigorous and unpolished style of jazz for piano, originating in the barrelhouses of New Orleans

    2. ( as modifier )

      barrelhouse blues

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of barrelhouse

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; barrel + house

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“We’re always busy, baby, not this time,” Olsen sings over rippling barrelhouse piano in “Big Time,” “Lay in the tall grass, talking with your eyes.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2022

Taking its title from a saying attributed to Martin Luther, the concerto deconstructs and reassembles impulses from funk, gospel and barrelhouse.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 27, 2021

He plays me the first few bars of something caught between ragtime and barrelhouse, full of stride piano left-hand chords, his long fingers flicking this way and that.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 30, 2018

Two singing pianists who loom large in the contemporary lore of New Orleans music, Mr. Butler and Dr. John both descend from the musical parentage of Professor Longhair, the famous barrelhouse piano innovator.

From New York Times ● Jun. 8, 2017

A barrelhouse blues was being shouted over the stamping of feet on a wooden floor.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

When Pam Butler moved to Lincoln County 30 years ago, there were only two barrelhouses nearby, and she had “no issues.”

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 7, 2023

The distilleries where the liquor is manufactured and barrelhouses where it is aged have complemented the rural character of their neighborhoods, while providing jobs and the pride of a successful homegrown industry.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 7, 2023

Ms. Long said her corner of Lincoln County “is going to be black as coal” unless Jack Daniel’s installs air filters in the barrelhouses, one of which sits about 250 yards from her property.

From New York Times ● Mar. 1, 2023

Mr Holleman said he anticipates asking the court to order Brown-Forman to stop using six recently-built warehouses, which are commonly known as barrelhouses, that are also near Mrs Long's property.

From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2023

He was, in the words of the French critic Jacques Périn, "a robust, straightforward musician, a disciple of all the solid pianists schooled in the rough training-grounds of the barrelhouses".

From The Guardian ● Mar. 23, 2011

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training