pub
noun
a bar or tavern.
pub
1 American
[puhb]
/ pʌb /
noun
pub.
2
American
abbreviation
-
public.
-
publication.
-
published.
-
publisher.
-
publishing.
pub.
1
British
abbreviation
-
public
-
publication
-
published
-
publisher
-
publishing
pub
2
British
/ pʌb /
noun
-
Formal name: public house. a building with a bar and one or more public rooms licensed for the sale and consumption of alcoholic drink, often also providing light meals
-
a hotel
verb
Etymology
Origin of pub
First recorded in 1855–60; short for public house
Explanation
A pub is a bar or tavern that serves food and often acts as a community gathering place. People visit pubs to eat lunch, to drink beer, or to play darts with their friends. Pub is a shortened form of public house that dates from 1859. In the sixteenth century, a public house was first "any building open to the public," and then "an inn that sells food and drink." Today, the word pub is more or less synonymous with tavern — both are primarily places to drink beer, wine, or spirits, though a pub (especially in Great Britain) is seen as vital to its neighborhood, a cozy place to gather.
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.
As well as being stocked in several supermarkets, it is also sold in certain pub chains and some attractions in London.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
Wetherspoon has just opened its first pub in continental Europe in Spain’s Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández airport, the gateway to Benidorm.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
"There's a buzz around the place, you can feel it," said John Crombie, a bartender at the Irish pub Jack Doyle's, which is hosting watch parties.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
He then arrived at The Hobbit pub in Southampton and was checked for ID by the bouncers at the entrance.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
The pub was fuller than before: Many voices inside it were now singing the carol that they had heard as they approached the church.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
