speakeasy

[ speek-ee-zee ]
See synonyms for speakeasy on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural speak·eas·ies.
  1. a saloon or nightclub selling alcoholic beverages illegally, especially during Prohibition.

Origin of speakeasy

1
An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; speak + easy

word story For speakeasy

Speakeasies are usually and correctly associated with American Prohibition (1920–33), but the word actually goes back to the late 1880s in the United States, and back even further in Australia (the 1830s). Speakeasies are so named not because the customers were quiet, shy, or taciturn, but because no one wanted to attract the attention of unsympathetic neighbors, the local police, or the revenuers by talking too loudly.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use speakeasy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for speakeasy

speakeasy

/ (ˈspiːkˌiːzɪ) /


nounplural -easies
  1. US a place where alcoholic drink was sold illicitly during Prohibition

Origin of speakeasy

1
C19: from speak + easy (in the sense: gently, quietly)

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