inn

¹

[ in ]

noun

1. a commercial establishment that provides lodging, food, etc., for the public, especially travelers; small hotel.

   Synonyms: hostelry

2. a tavern.
3. (initial capital letter) British.
   1. any of several buildings in London formerly used as places of residence for students, especially law students. Compare Inns of Court.
   2. a legal society occupying such a building.

Inn

²

[ in ]

noun

1. a river in central Europe, flowing from S Switzerland through Austria and Germany into the Danube. 320 miles (515 km) long.

Inn

¹

/ ɪn /

noun

1. a river in central Europe, rising in Switzerland in Graubünden and flowing northeast through Austria and Bavaria to join the River Danube at Passau: forms part of the border between Austria and Germany. Length: 514 km (319 miles)

inn

²

/ ɪn /

noun

1. a pub or small hotel providing food and accommodation
2. (formerly, in England) a college or hall of residence for students, esp of law, now only in the names of such institutions as the Inns of Court

Other Words From

• innless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of inn¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English in(n) “house”; akin to Old Norse inni (adverb) “within, in the house”

Word History and Origins

Origin of inn¹

Old English; compare Old Norse inni inn, house, place of refuge

Synonym Study

See hotel.

Example Sentences

“It’s pretty usual for us in Humboldt County to get earthquakes,” said Chappelle, who is the innkeeper of Hydrangea Inn, which was built by her great-aunt in the 1930s.

From Los Angeles Times

Cobian said that moments before the quake struck, she had been giving a tour of the inn to a third-grade class from the local elementary school.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s insane,” she said, walking through the inn surveying the damage.

From Los Angeles Times

Olivia Cobian, the innkeeper at the Gingerbread Mansion Inn in Ferndale, said the inside of the inn now "looks like a warzone".

From BBC

In April 1969, two months before police officers raided a gay bar on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village called the Stonewall Inn, New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Village a historic district thanks to its rowhouses and spaghetti entanglement of streets, the serendipity of Colonial-era cattle paths and property lines colliding with the city grid.

From New York Times

Related Words

• hostel
• hotel
• lodge
• motel
• resort
• saloon
• tavern